TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A man went on a rampage Wednesday Sep. 11 in the morning, stabbing people at a west side business, in some cases multiple times.
The suspect was identified as Antwann Brown, an employee at Dyke Industries, a building materials company in an industrial park.
Brown was involved in a dispute at the office before the stabbing, in which police said a pocket-knife-style weapon was used.
Police were called around 8:35 a.m.
When officers arrived, they began treating victims on the scene, said officer Damon Miller, a spokesman for the Tallahassee Police Department. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was killed. Five people were taken to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare for treatment.
Interim Police Chief Steve Outlaw said at a news conference “you can’t help but wonder” whether the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was a factor in the attack, but police found no evidence of any connections. He said police had not determined a motive for the “spontaneous” attack.
He said co-workers fought off the knife-wielding attacker with objects in the office.
Chief Outlaw noted Brown had run-ins with law enforcement years ago. A Florida Department of Corrections offender website shows the 41-year-old spent time in prison for drug dealing and grand theft in cases going back to 1996. He was released from prison in July 2009.
Frantic family members gathered behind police tape and shared stories of the horror that unfolded inside the business.
Marquitta Campbell’s husband, Bobby Riggins Jr., arrived for a job interview at Dyke Industries at around 8:30 a.m. She said she was on the phone with him when she heard a commotion.
“The next thing I know, he said, ‘Baby, I’ve been stabbed five times,’ ” Campbell said as she waited for answers.
Her husband later called her from the hospital to tell her he had internal bleeding and was going into surgery.
Danielle Buchanan, a spokeswoman for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, said, “One patient is in serious condition; two patients are in fair condition; and two patients are in good condition.”
Before the stabbing, city officials were grappling with a rash of shootings over the weekend that left two dead and one injured.
Dyke Industries, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, has 15 distribution outlets in 18 states and provides residential and commercial building materials, including interior and exterior doors, according to the company’s website.
Source: USA Today
