It’s been two weeks since a man was attacked while riding his bicycle up Tantalus, and the suspect is still on the loose.
The incident prompted the victim’s friends to host a group ride of unity Tuesday night.
Tantalus is known for its picturesque lookouts.
But for cyclist Amir "Wasabi" Najam, "lookout" has a whole different meaning because of what happened to him two weeks ago.
"It was pretty shocking and random," said Amir "Wasabi" Najam.
This UH Manoa senior had been riding his bike up Tantalus, and when he got to this lookout point, he saw a man leaning against a parked car.
"And as I got around the apex, and am starting to go back up, I just hear some footsteps behind me, obviously someone is running, and I feel a hand on my back kind of pushing me, and I looked down and there’s a guy and he stabs me on the side," said Amir "Wasabi" Najam.
Wasabi showed us his scab. Obviously it wasn’t a big gash, but big enough to cause concern, and prompt this unity group ride.
Wasabi, his friends, and others in the cycling community rode up Tantalus just before sunset — two weeks to the day and time of the attack.
"We want to show the community if this was an act of intimidation against cyclists, we are not intimidated," said Amir "Wasabi" Najam.
Wasabi says he’s still puzzled by the attack.
"No he didn’t say anything except for after he stabbed me, forgive my language, he said "oh ****" turned around and ran. So it kind of seemed like that was not something someone deliberately trying to stab someone says. So I was very confused as to what happened." said Amir "Wasabi" Najam.
Afterwards, the man took off in his car down the hill. Police were not able to find him.
This is Wasabi’s first time back at Tantalus since the attack.
"And according to the girlfriend, my last, she was just like nope no more on Tantalus," said Amir "Wasabi" Najam.
Wasabi says his attacker was about 6’3" with a thin build. He was wearing a grey polo shirt, black pants, and had a shaved head.
And all he remembers about the car is that it appeared to be a red Honda.
If you have any information that can help investigators with this assault case, call Honolulu police.
See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
