A craftsman displays a Bowie knife he made that is for sale at the Nations Gunshow on November 21, 2009 in Chantilly, Virginia. Vendors and collectors of current and vintage arms and accessories have gathered to buy sell and trade during the three day event. (KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)
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CHICAGO (CBS)–A man used a Bowie knife to stab a 41-year-old homeless woman in the face and abdomen Sunday evening during an argument in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, police said.
The suspect, a 66-year-old man, attacked the woman with the weapon at about 5:37 p.m. near the intersection of State Street and Chicago Avenue after a “verbal altercation” escalated, Police News Affairs said.
Police at the scene told CBS 2 the suspect committed the crime with a Bowie knife, a large blade commonly used by hunters. They said the victim was stabbed once in the face and at least once in the abdomen.
Witness Gary O’Sullivan, who lives in the neighborhood at the YMCA, says the victim had been attempting to pan-handle the suspect.
“I was just walking past. The next thing I know, I heard her scream, and I turned around and this guy stuck a knife in her side,” he told CBS 2’s Courtney Gousman. “That’s when I decided to stage-left exit.”
Police News Affairs say officers quickly apprehended the suspect nearby; charges were pending. It’s not clear whether the suspect and victim knew each other.
The victim, whom authorities described as a homeless woman, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, the Chicago Fire Department said. Police said she underwent surgery.
O’Sullivan said the neighborhood, which is a few blocks from the Magnificent Mile, can be dangerous because of transients and drug-dealing. Sunday’s stabbing took place near Holy Name Cathedral.
