Long Island police arrest Daniel Tomasky in Adventureland attack
A stabbing at Long Island's Adventureland Amusement Park in New York left a Florida man in critical condition late Sunday afternoon, derailing a family vacation over the Fourth of July weekend.
Police took a New York man into custody after the attack, which took place about 35 miles east of New York City in suburban Suffolk County.
They said at least one child witnessed the chaos, which prompted additional charges for the suspect.
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Adventureland employees test Moon Chaser, one of two new rides at the amusement park this summer in Farmingdale, New York, on March 19, 2024. A stabbing at the park left a Florida tourist in critical condition Sunday. (Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Daniel Tomasky, a 42-year-old from Shirley, faces charges including assault, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning.
Rescuers transported James Burns, a 47-year-old from Edgewater, Florida, to the hospital in critical condition.
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The rides at Adventureland Amusement Park in Farmingdale, New York, as seen from the top of the Ferris wheel on Aug. 24, 2019. (Reggie Lewis/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Police described the two as acquaintances and said they became embroiled in an altercation involving several other people inside the park shortly before 5 p.m.
Tomasky allegedly pulled out a knife and plunged it into Burns' stomach with at least one child present to witness the attack.
Amusement park attendees ride a swing at Adventureland in Farmingdale, New York on July 4, 2018. (Alejandra Villa Loraca/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Suffolk County police are asking anyone with information on the incident to contact detectives at 631-854-8152.
Authorities closed down a section of the park, but it reopened before the end of the night, the local News 12 Long Island reported.
Other people in the park at the time of the attack called it a sad event but appeared to shrug it off.
"It's a little unsettling, but again, it's becoming more and more not news," Mike LaRocca, of Copiague, told the station. "It's more common and expected."