A stabbing attack at an Oregon men’s shelter on Sunday night left 11 people hospitalized.
The incident occurred at Union Gospel Mission in Salem around 7:15 p.m.
Executive Director Craig Smith said the suspect was checking in for his second night at the shelter when got into a fight before he would have handed over his belongings to the staff.
“Something … set him off, and he evidently had a knife in his bag,” Smith said. “It’s a really awful situation.”
Salem Police rushed to the scene and found people with “varying types of injuries.” A total of 11 people, including one staffer were hospitalized at Salem Health. Their medical status is unknown.
The shelter’s community engagement director Mark Hunter told the Salem Reporter the victims were in the day room and outside the building.
Resident Bobby Epperly told the Salem Statesman Journal he saw a man outside yelling and waving a knife before going downstairs and seeing “blood everywhere.”
One victim was seen “bleeding heavily from the neck.”
Smith told the outlet that residents were not evacuated because the incident did not happen in the shelter area of the facility.
The suspect was taken into custody by Salem Police, but his name was not released.
The mission offers refuge to as many as 150 unhoused men each night where they have access to food, shelter, clothing, showers, case management, counseling and other support services, according to its website.
With News Wire Services
