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Buffalo man faces charges following incident on Niagara Street

"A man was allegedly acting irrationally, swinging around a knife, and trying to fight a bloody male victim," police said.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Buffalo man is facing charges following an incident that happened Wednesday afternoon on Niagara Street.

The sequence of events began around noon Wednesday, when Buffalo Police officers responded to a knife call on the 1200 block of Niagara Street, north of West Ferry Street, according to a statement issued by police on Friday.

"A man was allegedly acting irrationally, swinging around a knife, and trying to fight a bloody male victim," police said.

The victim claimed that somebody had been driving on the designated bike lane along Niagara Street and that the vehicle almost hit him. After that, the victim told police that the suspect got out of the vehicle, assaulted the victim, then went back to the vehicle to grab what appeared to be a knife.

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The suspect struck the victim several more times, then fled the scene, police said.

Police quickly located the suspect, identified by police as 35-year-old Renier Uranta, at Niagara Street and Potomac Avenue. He was taken to Erie County Medical Center to be treated, before being arrested and discharged.

Charges faced by Uranta include one misdemeanor count of assault, one misdemeanor count of menacing, one harassment violation, and one count of failure to use a designated lane.

A search of the New York State electric court filing system on Friday evening showed that Uranta's next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 6 in Erie County Court. He does have a defense attorney.

GObike Buffalo on Saturday issued a statement about the incident.

"GObike will be meeting with Buffalo DPW's team on Monday to discuss the possibility of installing removable bollards on the Niagara Street Cycle Track," the group said.

"There currently are not any so that snow removal and street cleaning can occur. However, with egregious driver behavior like this and constant parking in the lane leading to other reports of confrontations and threats of violence, the safety of the cycle track's only intended users must be prioritized.

"In the meantime, cars and trucks parked in the cycle track must be ticketed and towed. This is some of the best infrastructure in the city and the state. When unimpeded, it invites children, older adults, and inexperienced cyclists to ride confidently in a protected zone away from traffic. We should all celebrate and protect this cycle track and its users together."

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