New York, New York - A man went on a deadly stabbing spree in New York on Monday, police and the mayor said, killing two people and critically injuring a third.

Police issued an image of the suspected attack weapon, a large bloodied kitchen knife, but have so far not commented on any possible motive for the triple slashing.

"Two lost their lives, one is fighting for her life," New York mayor Eric Adams told a media briefing.

"We have someone in custody and we are not looking for any additional suspects."

Police said that the suspect first struck in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, attacking a man outside a building site around 8:22 AM.

The 36-year-old victim later died.

The attacker then crossed the city and attacked a man fishing in the East River two hours later, killing the 68-year-old.

At 10:55 AM the suspect went on to attack a 36-year-old woman close to the Manhattan headquarters of the United Nations.

The suspect is 51 with eight prior arrests and was arrested near the UN where he was armed with two kitchen knives, detectives said.