WAHPETON, N.D. - The man accused with stabbing a store clerk here with scissors on Wednesday is expected to make his first court appearance Friday.
Police said they will not release the suspect's name until he appears in court, but he is expected to face multiple charges including aggravated assault and kidnapping.
Police said the suspect walked into the Family Dollar store around 8 p.m. Wednesday night, where he locked seven people in the back of the store and stabbed the female clerk several times with a scissors.
"I'd say for our entire state it's a rare thing and extremely rare in Wahpeton," Chief Scott Thorsteinson, Wahpeton Police said.
The chief said police arrived at the Dakota Avenue store in less than a minute and were able to break up what they called the random attack.
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"He took control of the store and moved employees and customers, including a 5-year-old child, into a back room and then secured them there by placing items, heavy items, against the door," Thorsteinson said.
Police tased the man and were able to take him into custody but one officer was injured. The victim, suspect, and the officer had to be treated for injuries at St. Francis Health in Breckenridge, Minn.
"It could've been a lot worse. If our officers hadn't been there so quickly, the employee might have been more badly injured or killed," Thorsteinson said. "Anytime you start slashing people or stabbing people in that area of the body, you run a great risk of harming them terribly."
The victim suffered injuries to her neck but was released from the hospital.
