A man punched and kicked three carriage horses in Central Park Monday before saying he had a knife, one of the carriage drivers alleged, according to The Madison Leader Gazette.
The alleged animal abuse happened before noon inside Central Park near West 59th Street and Sixth Avenue, 28-year-old hansom cab driver Henry Kaya told The Madison Leader Gazette.
Maniac punches carriage horse, attacks two others in Central Park: driver https://t.co/NjtFGh98Jq pic.twitter.com/hgEmbnsw25
— New York Post (@nypost) July 5, 2021
Five drivers lined their carriages on Center Drive and waited for fares when the man allegedly appeared, cursed and punched one of the horses, Kaya told The Madison Leader Gazette. (RELATED: ‘The Biggest Gut Punch In Racing’: Kentucky Derby Winner Tests Positive For Banned Drug)
Nurettin Kirbiyik, 47, owns the horse, an 11-year-old Gypsy/Morgan cross named Dennis, according to The New York Post. Kirbiyik alleged that the man washed his shirt in the “horse-drinking water” when he started talking to Dennis, The New York Post reported.
“I look away, I was scared, I didn’t want to look at him,” Kiribyik told the outlet.
He allegedly attacked a second horse and then tried attacking Kaya’s 16-year-old dark brown mare named Mary, according to The Madison Leader Gazette.
“He raised his hand to punch my horse but I pulled my horse back so he could barely touch my horse,” Kaya told The Madison Leader Gazette.
The man allegedly threatened to punch Kaya and said, “I have a knife,” before disappearing.