Man who stabbed park ranger in Rittenhouse Square shouted ‘go back to your country,’ police said

The stabbing of a park ranger in Rittenhouse Square on Sunday afternoon was a hate crime, authorities said Tuesday as they announced that Thomas Riceman, 34, had been charged with attempted murder and ethnic intimidation in connection with the attack.

The park ranger, a 40-year-old man, was in a booth in the center of the park when Riceman walked inside and lay on the floor. When the ranger asked him to leave, Riceman jumped up and stabbed him in the face and head with a pair of scissors, said Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.

“Go back to your country, you immigrant,” Riceman shouted as he attacked the man, Vanore said. After a struggle, the ranger was able to subdue and handcuff Riceman and wait for police to arrive.

Riceman was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation and related crimes, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said.

The ranger was treated at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and released Sunday, police said.