Man jumps to his death from Manhattan fifth-floor rooftop after stabbing his 'roommate' in head and leaving him covered in blood

A man jumped to his death from a fifth-floor rooftop in Lower Manhattan early Wednesday morning after police say he stabbed another man in the head.

The violent incident took place on Canal Street near Division Street at around 9.30am.

According to police, the two men, reportedly described as roommates, were arguing inside an apartment building when one of them, said to be a man in his 50s, pulled out a knife and stabbed the other in the head.

Following the attack, the suspect ascended to the rooftop and jumped. 

A man said to be in his 50s jumped to his death from a building on Canal Street in Manhattan early Wednesday

The suicide came after the man stabbed his 43-year-old roommate in the head with a butcher's knife during a dispute

An eyewitness told the New York Post the man said nothing before taking the fatal leap from the corner of the roof.

A photographer on the scene captured an image of the unnamed suspect sprawled motionless on the ground, wearing nothing but a pair of grey shorts and socks.

The attacker was taken to New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, a passerby recounted for New York Daily News seeing the 43-year-old victim of the stabbing 'covered in blood from head to toe,' walking barefoot along Canal Street and screaming for help. 

The victim was seen walking barefoot and covered in blood in the street before first responders arrived and took him to the hospital in stable condition

The injured man was transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, where he was listed in critical but stable condition and was expected to survive.

Police have not said what the two roommates were fighting over before the stabbing.