Fatal stabbing in Manhattan's Theater District

NEW YORK - An altercation between two men turned deadly in Midtown Manhattan's Theater District.

Witnesses told police that the fight might have started Thursday evening when the men bumped into each other.

The confrontation escalated and one man stabbed the other in the face and groin, the NYPD said. The victim, Guarionex Torres, 49, of the Bronx, died. 

Cops later arrested Jesus Ramirez, 28, and charged him with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Detectives are investigating Ramirez's claims that he acted in self-defense.

Police said that the victim has a history of arrests involving harassing people in the area. Torres was arrested just last week for menacing people with a hatchet near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the NYPD said.

The incident comes as the NYPD reports that murders citywide are down 11% so far this year, but slightly up in the Midtown South district where the incident happened.