NYC mom thwarts knife attack by pretending to have COVID and COUGHING in assailant's direction

A 52-year-old New York woman has shared her creative tactic for dealing with muggers roaming on streets - without any violence involved. 

Jane Duncan was taking a walk through the West Village when she claims that a man who has 'supposedly threatened to stab people multiple times in the last few weeks' approached her with a 'knife' in hand on February 4. 

According to Duncan, the man who is allegedly named Matthew jumped right in front of her and screamed: 'Why are you harassing me?'

She then supposedly saw him reach for something shiny and yelled back: 'I have Covid. Stay away from me. I'm on my way to the emergency room' while fake-coughing around him. 

Duncan then said that after she continued to cough, he ran quickly away from her.

Jane Duncan was taking a walk through the West Village when she claims that a man who has 'supposedly threatened to stab people multiple times in the last few weeks' approached her with a 'knife' in hand on February 4

According to Duncan, the man who is allegedly named Matthew jumped right in front of her and screamed: 'Why are you harassing me?'

In her Facebook post, she described Matthew as: 'Runs around quickly, and screams in people's faces as he pulls a knife out. He is almost completely bald but has very long black hair in the back.

She later told the New York Post that the two had never crossed paths before 'which makes her think it's not just that he's violent, it's that he's mentally ill — like he must be hearing voices.' 

Duncan said that she had been using the COVID defense to ward off the rising number of vagrants in her neighborhood for a long time now. 

'This used to be a real froufrou area. But I've noticed that people are getting more and more aggressive about panhandling to the point where they're practically mugging you,' the distressed New Yorker said. 

Duncan had already filed a police report against Matthew with the NYPD's 6th Precinct but did not receive much support. 

'They kept asking me 'Are you sure it was a knife?'' she recalled.

'I'm not an idiot I know what a knife looks like' she told the Post. 

Matthew apparently also told the Post that he was homeless and slept in the street.  

She soon saw Matthew again on February 9 and called officers. In an updated Nextdoor.com post, Duncan said the cops did not search him for weapons but instead asked him 'how he was'

She soon saw Matthew again on February 9 and called officers. In an updated Nextdoor.com post, Duncan said the cops did not search him for weapons but instead asked him 'how he was doing'. 

'I'm a huge advocate for people struggling with mental health issues. I'd love to see him get mental health support, instead of being arrested. 

I did see Matthew napping today February 9th. I called the police. Six officers showed up within ten minutes. They were very nice, but said their hands were tied since he didn't pull a knife on me today. 

'I asked if they could confiscate his weapon. They said they weren't allowed to search him. So they said if he pulls a knife on me again or uses it on me to call 911 again. 

'They spoke to Matthew briefly just to say hello and ask how he was doing. Matthew then walked away. Apparently they know him well, as most of the people on this thread do,' she wrote on the social networking service for neighborhoods. 

Suggesting a remedy for the issue, Duncan said: 'What I want is reform. I don't think arresting him and releasing him is the right thing. I think we need to have a system with mental health care.'

It is unclear if Duncan has been arrested by police before this incident.