Man indicted on assault charged in Dominican Day parade slashing

A Manhattan man was indicted on assault charges Wednesday for allegedly slashing an older man in the face in Midtown during the rowdy Dominican Day Parade in August.

Joshua Cantero, 20, was walking near the corner of West 45th Street and 8th Avenue at about 3:35 p.m. on Aug. 11 when he decided to start jumping on cars parked along the street, according to a statement from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

His victim, an unidentified 65-year-old man, was sitting in his vehicle, waiting for his wife to get off work when Cantero leaped onto the car and started jumping up and down, Bragg said.

The man got out and told Cantero to scram — and that’s when Cantero allegedly pulled a knife and lunged at him, authorities said.

The victim tried to back away as Cantero swung wildly, catching him in the face and leaving him with a bloody slice, Bragg said.

He scrambled back into his car, but Cantero allegedly kept trying to knife him — and caught him once more in the hand as the victim tried to protect himself.

The cops collared Cantero on West 45th Street about 15 minutes later, Bragg said.

Cantero was indicted on first-degree attempted assault, two counts of second-degree assault and a weapons rap.

Meanwhile, his victim was brought to the hospital, where doctors treated the face wound and stitched up his hands and fingers.

“Assaults on older adults are reprehensible, and those who commit these acts of violence in Manhattan will be held accountable,” Bragg said. “I hope the victim continues to heal from this assault.” 

The slashing was the capstone on a hectic event that ended early when a massive, unruly crowd swarmed the parade’s Midtown route, law enforcement sources said at the time.

The 42-year-old parade — which draws a half-million spectators — was supposed to continue along Sixth Avenue until West 59th Street, the entrance to Central Park.

But the crowd grew more and more boisterous — especially when several rappers on floats rolled through — and spectators started jumping the 46th Street barricades.

The NYPD scrambled to restore order, standing the barricades back up, holding the floats in place and making one arrest, sources said.

Then they diverted the parade off Sixth Avenue and onto 52nd Street, and canceled what was left of the parade down.

“We’re shutting it down,” a police source told The Post. “At this point, it’s gotten out of hand.”