Muggers charged in NYC stabbing, pizza owner Louie Suljovic

Two men have been charged with attempted murder in the attack on a Queens pizzeria owner and his father, who were stabbed multiple times after jumping in to prevent a woman from being mugged, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Robert Whack, 30, and Supreme Gooding, 18, have been charged in Queens Superior Court with attempted murder, assault and robbery over the March 26 attack outside the Slice shop in Elmhurst.

They were also charged in connection with a separate assault on a 75-year-old woman ten days earlier, the Queens Borough Attorney’s Office said.

Whack and Gooding allegedly took aim at the elderly woman as she entered her 64th Street apartment building. They were caught on surveillance video allegedly fleeing the scene immediately afterwards with the victim’s purse, prosecutors said.

The pair then allegedly attacked the second victim, a 61-year-old woman, after trying to stop her from stealing her purse near Louie’s Pizzeria in Elmhurst.

Louie Suljovic, 38, and his 68-year-old father Cazim Suljovic witnessed the ordeal – and ran to fend off the alleged knife-wielding robbers.

Whack and Gooding are accused of stabbing the elder Suljovic nine times in the chest and back, causing him to collapse a lung.

Louie also suffered a collapsed lung after being stabbed in the back, while the woman sustained a single stab wound to her back in the frenzied attack.

All three victims were taken to Elmhurst Hospital when police arrested the two suspects near the scene. A bloodied knife was reportedly discovered hidden in Whack’s jacket pocket.

“As alleged, the defendants targeted two women to steal their purses and stabbed two Good Samaritans who selflessly intervened during one of the incidents,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said in a statement.

“Thankfully no lives were lost, but we will not allow senseless violence to become the norm in our communities. Both defendants now face serious charges for their alleged crimes.”

If convicted, Whack and Gooding each face up to 25 years in prison.

Louie, who reopened his pizzeria just a week after being hospitalized, insisted at the time that he wouldn’t hesitate to step in and help again — because he’s a New Yorker.

“In any case, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Why would I do it again when I know full well the consequences? So are we. You can’t change who you are,” he said.

“I’m here to help my neighbors. At night I can just go to sleep knowing I did something to help someone else,” he added. “I’m not a hero, I’m a New Yorker.”