Cops: Teens cut off cabbie's thumb

NEW YORK (AP) - Police say they've charged two teenage boys with assault after they slashed a New York City store owner before cutting off a cabbie's thumb while trying to flee.

Authorities say the attack occurred around 2:30 a.m. Sunday at a Bronx bodega, where a 17-year-old from Brooklyn and another from the Bronx got into an argument with the store owner.

Police say one of the teens pulled out a knife and slashed the man's hand before running outside, where they tried to flee in an occupied livery cab.

Officials say when the driver confronted the teens, one of the youths used a knife to sever the man's thumb. A 19-year-old woman in the cab suffered a cut to her back during the attack.

Police caught the teens nearby.  All three victims were treated at Montefiore Medical Center.