Weehawken and Union City police are still investigating an incident at a Palisade Avenue delicatessen in Weehawken which left the store’s owner in jail, charged with aggravated assault for allegedly stabbing his wife Monday afternoon.
Both police departments are involved because the victim was allegedly stabbed in the Weehawken deli, then ran across Palisade Avenue to a Union City medical office to seek assistance.
According to Weehawken Public Safety Director Jeff Welz, Weehawken police arrived at the scene around 4:30 p.m. Monday after the medical office in Union City called police to report the incident.
“Union City police was first notified that there was a woman with a puncture wound to the left side of her chest,” Welz said. “It was determined that the incident took place inside the deli.”
While the 40-year-old woman, whose name is being withheld, was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center, Weehawken police apprehended 46-year-old Il Chon, who resides in Union City, inside the Salt and Pepper Deli, located at 2500 Palisade Ave. in Weehawken.
Chon was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and domestic violence by the Weehawken police.
Chon also faces charges that he allegedly punched his wife and burned her face with a cigarette during a dispute in their Union City home a day earlier, police said.
The victim underwent emergency surgery Monday night to repair a punctured lung that occurred as a result of the stab wounds. She remains in the Medical Center’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit, but is not in any life-threatening danger, according to a hospital spokesperson.
During the investigation, Weehawken detectives apparently discovered a large-handle seated knife with human blood stains on it. There were also several blood stains on the floor.
“Apparently, this was a domestic dispute that started Sunday at home and carried over until Monday,” Welz said. “Although there were no witnesses, the investigation shows that the alleged stabbing took place in the deli during a dispute between the owner and his wife.”
Chon, a native of Korea, is being held in Hudson County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail.
Neighbors and regular customers of the delicatessen were shocked by the incident.
“I’m really stunned,” said neighbor Peter Cullen, who said he went to the store “almost daily.”
“They seemed to be pretty happy people,” Cullen said. “She was always friendly with the customers. A friend of mine noticed that she hadn’t been the same person lately, that something had to be wrong, because she wasn’t as friendly and cordial as she had been. But I never thought that something like this would happen.”
“I can’t understand what could have gone wrong,” said Al Dupenski, who made daily deliveries to the store. “I made my last delivery there Friday and everything seemed to be fine. I came here today [Tuesday] and all hell had broken loose. It’s really a shame.”
The state Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) was called because the couple has a 7-year-old son who may have been a witness to the domestic squabble at home Sunday night.
The boy has since been staying with his grandparents.