Brewster Man Slashes NYC Cabbie

Residents in the greater Brewster area are expressing shock and disbelief this week over the alleged actions of a 21-year-old resident of Brewster Heights who faces attempted murder charges in Manhattan for reportedly stabbing a taxicab driver because he was Muslim.

Michael Enright, a 2007 graduate of Brewster High School, is held without bail for attacking the cabbie a week ago Tuesday night.

On Monday, a grand jury empanelled in New York City handed up a sealed indictment in the case, but a spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said the charges in the indictment would not be revealed until it becomes unsealed at Enright’s arraignment Sept. 22.

Enright’s neighbor, Alma Quinlan, said “Michael didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He was always pleasant and said ‘hello’!”

Enright volunteered with the Intersections International organization— a group based in New York City that according to its director Rev. Robert Chase is dedicated to “promoting peace, justice and reconciliation across lines of faith, culture, ideology, race, class, national borders and other boundaries that divide humanity.”

Rev. Chase said “Michael believed in our mission. If the accusations prove to be true, it is heartbreaking because a vicious attack of this caliber is totally out of Michael’s character.”

Officials in the Big Apple said Enright, who was reportedly highly intoxicated at the time, got into the taxi and asked the cabbie if he was Muslim. Police allege he then slashed the driver in the throat and cut his arm. The driver locked the Putnam man in the cab and sought help. The cabbie, a native of Bangladesh, married and the father of four children who had been in the U.S. for more than two decades, was taken to a nearby hospital and was treated and later released.

Enright contacted this reporter in early June, requesting a story relating to his trip to Afghanistan last spring. During the journey, where he became part of a Marine unit, Enright studied his childhood friend and schoolmate, Alex Eckner, who joined the Marines following graduation and is stationed in Hawaii. Enright filmed the unit through basic training as well as their deployment in Afghanistan.

Enright filmed the experience— tabbed “Experiences of a Common Soldier” for a senior class project at the School of Visual Arts where he is currently enrolled.

While an initial contact was made with the Courier, a promise to “connect” once he returned from a trip several weeks later was never made.

A spokesman for the Marines said Eckner would have no comment.

Those who know Enright remain stunned by the accusations that the young man from Brewster attempted to maim a total stranger as a hate crime because he was a Muslim.

Suna Dalo, a graduate of Brewster High School last June, described herself as “one of Michael’s closest friends. He never displayed any anti- Islamic attitudes. He is completely opposite of what this event depicts. If he was in his right mind, Mikey couldn’t do this.”

Helen Chiera of Southeast described Enright as a “quiet and smart boy.” Cheria’s son, Paul, was good friends with Enright throughout high school: “The boys shared a love of photography and took several classes together,” she said.

Chiera said she felt for “both families. The taxicab driver seems like a hard working man while the Enrights are being put through the mill. They are devastated.”

Another friend of the accused is Chelsea Laber, who graduated from BHS in 2008. “Michael is a good guy who doesn’t have a nasty bone in his body. I’m in shock over the accusations.”

Brewster High School Principal Matt Byrnes also expressed amazement over the arrest: “Michael was a good boy— hard working and well liked. All I can say is that we are all stunned!”

If found guilty of the attempted murder and assault as a hate crime charges, Enright faces up to 25 years in state prison.

Last Friday, Enright was transferred from a cell at Rikers Island Prison in Manhattan to Bellvue Hospital, where he is undergoing psychiatric evaluation.