A “very agitated” man suspected of having a mental health disorder stabbed a police officer in Missouri, department officials said.
The officer, who was not immediately identified, was attacked Wednesday when he responded to a medical call in downtown Kansas City, police said the Kansas City Star.
The police found the man in “very uneasy state” and tried to calm him down, believing that he was experiencing a mental health crisis, a Sergeant police spokesman said. Jacob Becchina told the newspaper.
The suspect then pulled a knife out of his pocket and stabbed the officer in the chest, Becchina said.
Police managed to hold the suspect at gunpoint until additional officers responded to the scene and arrested him, the newspaper reported.
The officer, who was initially said to be in critical condition, was reportedly registered in stable condition until Wednesday night.
The suspect is now facing increasingly serious assault charges, KCTV Report.
The incident was not related to the ongoing police brutal protests in downtown Kansas City, Becchina told the station.
“We are also very curious about that,” he said. “Obviously, we are preparing to protest near the Plaza. We are alert and ready for any problems that arise throughout the city.”
The stabbing took place about 30 minutes before a planned demonstration organized by the Kansas City Police Department with local church leaders after the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis, KSHB Report.
