Metro

‘He wanted to scar me’: Woman recounts knife attack on walk to work

A young woman’s daily walk from the subway to her job at Whole Foods took a terrifying turn on Wednesday when a man slashed her face in a random attack in Chelsea.

“I was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Amanda Morris, 24, of Brooklyn, who was cut on the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 24th Street at around 5:35 a.m. “He wanted to scar me, and that’s why he went for my face.”

Police later arrested Kari Bazemore, 41— who had been arrested and released just days earlier for allegedly punching another woman in the face during another random attack, on Dec. 30.

Amanda Morris speaks to The Post at her Bushwick home after her horrific slashing ordeal.Paul Martinka

Witnesses told cops they saw the suspect flailing his arms and talking to himself shortly before the attack. Morris had a feeling she should stay far away from the “suspicious” man, who was walking several feet ahead of her as she strolled up Seventh Avenue with her earbuds in.

“I thought he was homeless or drunk or something, because he was wobbling around and didn’t have any direction,” she told The Post.

“In my gut, I knew he was not right. I knew he was on drugs or something because of the way he was walking.”

The creep slowed down as Morris continued walking, letting her pass him — then suddenly dashed toward her, and slashed her down the nose and lips with a razor or boxcutter.

Morris was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was given seven stitches to treat her injuries.Paul Martinka

“I felt like I got punched in the face,” Morris said. “It was like, oh that’s weird, why would someone punch me? Suddenly, blood was all over my hands, and I started crying.”

It happened so fast, she never got a glimpse of the suspect’s face. He fled across the street and ran south down Seventh Avenue.

Feeling faint, Morris ducked inside the Malibu Diner, where workers gave her a towel for her gushing wound.

“They looked at the cut and said it’s definitely caused by a knife or razor — it couldn’t have possibly been done by somebody’s hand,” she said.

“I was freaking out, and I didn’t really know what to do.”

A diner employee took her to the Whole Foods, where Morris’ supervisor called the cops.

At Bellevue Hospital, she received seven stitches for the deep cuts and was sent home at around 10 a.m.

Cops found surveillance video of the attack, showing the disturbing moment the assailant darted toward Morris with his weapon.

Hours after the attack, a good Samaritan recognized Bazemore from surveillance video released by police and began to follow him, police said.

He flagged down two mounted cops on patrol near St. Patrick’s Cathedral, who quickly apprehended the slasher.

Bazemore, who lists a Bronx address, was taken to the 13th Precinct station house and charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

He already had 32 arrests dating back to 2000, records show.

I felt like I got punched in the face … Suddenly, blood was all over my hands, and I started crying.

In the Dec. 30 assault, he punched a 32-year-old woman in the face on East Eighth Street, causing bruising and swelling to her right cheek and eye, according to police.

Bazemore was charged with misdemeanor assault in that case and released without bail later that day.

According to records, he was also arrested last year for grand larceny and weapons possession. It was not clear how those cases were adjudicated.

Morris said she’d never seen him in the area before, and this was the first time she’d ever run into trouble on her way to work.

“It’s pretty safe,” she said. “I’ve never felt uncomfortable — or thought of anyone as a threat.” Now she wishes she’d trusted her “gut instinct.”

“I want everyone to know that I did have a bad feeling about this man as soon as I saw him,” she wrote in an emotional Facebook post on Wednesday, describing her “difficult day.”

“Even in a safer neighborhood such as Chelsea, you should always stay alert and aware of your surroundings,” Morris continued. “Had I crossed the street, this could have been avoided; never feel that you have to stay in an uncomfortable situation out of politeness/fear/etc.”

Lifelong Chelsea resident Patrick Chaitoo, 46, said that while the neighborhood is “pretty safe,” it could use more police officers in the area.

Additional reporting by Shawn ­Cohen and Sarah Trefethen