Sullivan Laws for Knives Now?

A shirtless madman wielding stolen knives went on a bloody midtown rampage yesterday - stabbing a restaurant worker and a psychologist walking her dog before being shot by an off-duty cop, authorities said.

What is this world coming to? When defenseless cancer-survivors are brutally stabbed by mental patients, what we need is new legislation, right? But since no firearm was used in the commission of this violent attack, do you think there will be any call at all for new legislation?

Deranged Lee Coleman stood wild-eyed over the dog-walker, methodically plunging a knife into her body and face over and over - even pausing to change knives as the woman lay in a pool of blood, screaming for help.

Changing knives just like Cho did with his pistols at VT. Is there any similarity in these attacks and cool demeanor of these attackers? You bet - read on:

The crazed mental patient got into several confrontations while running up Second Ave. near 35th St. before he took aim at Susan Barron, 67, who was walking to church to have her dog blessed, sources said.

Should we ask why it is so easy for someone to get access to so many knives - implements for which there is no other purpose than to cut flesh? Or is there some other question we should be asking?

Barron, who lives in the neighborhood, was stabbed at least 10 times in the face, neck, arms and abdomen, leaving her badly mutilated, witnesses said. She was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition. "He was chopping down on her," said Andrew Fink, 29, who was getting into a cab when the attack took place. "I saw him hit her at least 10 times. She was screaming and crawling along the street and people were running away.

Why are the onlookers running away? Well, this deranged criminal is armed with knives! No one in New York City has the right to be armed, so what were the onlookers to do? Wait to be the next victim?

"It looked like she was trying to crawl into the intersection. She was crying out in pain. He looked very intent. He was systematically bringing the weapon down on her."

Systematically. Just like Cho at VT. But with knives.

Police said Coleman, 38, has a history of mental illness and has been in and out of psychiatric clinics. He was off his medication, sources said.

Off his meds. Just like Cho at VT. But with knives.

He has prior arrests in Georgia in 2001 for child abandonment, assault, theft and receiving stolen property. He was also arrested in 2004 in New Jersey, but police were unclear on the charges.

Other brushes with the law. Just like Cho at VT. But with knives.

Coleman's frenzy along Second Ave. began shortly before the 10:40 a.m. stabbing. His first stop was Starbucks on 32nd St., where staff caught him rifling through drawers behind the counter, police said. He left empty-handed and walked a few blocks north to a deli, engaging in an argument with a person there. Coleman then walked to Texas Smokehouse restaurant. He asked to use the bathroom, but instead went behind the counter and stole four knives.

Why weren't these knives in a knife-safe or something? Oh, the horror!

Chef Amarjit Singh, 56, was slashed across the face and neck as he tried to stop Coleman, police sources said. Singh fled the restaurant onto Second Ave. followed by Coleman, who came face-to-face with Barron at the corner of 35th St. and, without warning, turned the knives on her.

Two crime locations. Just like Cho at VT. But with knives.

Barron - wearing a neck brace from a recent accident - fell to the ground, holding her cane in one hand and her black Scottish terrier, Velvet, on a leash in the other, but the attack continued. Coleman was seen standing over Barron, stabbing her and slashing her body "like a piece of meat," sources said. "He had so many knives that he had to put some down on the ground" while he stabbed her with others. Despite being badly injured, Singh returned to the scene as Barron was being attacked, rushed into the restaurant and grabbed towels and aprons to stem her bleeding.

Too bad Singh had all his knives stolen by Coleman. Singh might have been able to attack Coleman while he was mutilating Barron.

An off-duty NYPD Transit cop, Gregory Chin, who was on vacation and had been eating at the Gemini diner near where the attack took place, spotted the mayhem and intervened. "Drop it, drop it, drop the f------ knife," he screamed at Coleman, a police source said. Coleman ignored Chin's order and advanced aggressively, wielding the knives, forcing the cop to fire one round with his off-duty weapon, hitting Coleman in the stomach.

In all seriousness, here we have another ehinous act committed by a mentally disturbed individual that was supposed to be medicated. The main enabling condition for this crime is the fact that, far intents and purposes, NYC is a gun-free zone. Just like VT. Just like all public schools. And, just like Cho, Coleman was free to walk among the rest of society because of the misguided belief that the mentally ill can be medicated into normality. Except for when the supposedly-medicated mentally ill choose to not medicate themselves - then we encounter the type of mayhem that we had at VT and on Second Avenue yesterday.

Please note that no firearms were used in the commission of this crime. It's time for everyone to recognize that the weapon used has nothing to do with the individuals propensity for committing the violent act. The individual makes the decision to violent assail another human being. And in the cases of Cho and Coleman, their instabilities without medication were the main contributing factor in their decision process. So, banning guns or knives won't save future victims. But banning the menatlly ill from society certainly will go a long way to saving us all.