TACOMA, WA – A daylight stabbing in Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park has placed local residents on high alert. The incident unfolded around 1 p.m. on Saturday, as a woman was walking on a marked trail within the park’s 5500 block of 5-Mile Drive and was suddenly assaulted.
Tacoma Police Spokesperson, Shelbie Boyd, provided an update on the situation. Boyd explained that a passerby near to the victim was able to call emergency services at around 1 p.m. Officers arrived promptly on the scene, located the victim, and Tacoma Fire transported her to a nearby hospital.
Despite the authorities’ swift response, the male suspect managed to escape on foot via the park’s network of trails and remains at large. An in-depth description of the suspect is yet to be shared with the public. With Point Defiance being a large park, police attempted to secure the area, including deploying a K-9 unit. However, the high volume of visitors to the park hindered the K-9’s tracking ability.
“At this point what we really need is the community that visited the park today,” stated Boyd. “If they saw anything, if they know anything, please let us know.”
The woman was awake when transported to the hospital and her injuries are not critical according to law enforcement. At this preliminary stage of the investigation, the authorities believe the attack to have been random. Boyd added that the park was busy and had plenty of visitors, although it remains unclear whether the victim was associated with any of them.
The limited surveillance facilities within the woodland park areas mean that eyewitness accounts from park-goers could potentially be their only lead in the ongoing investigation.
Concluding her statement, Boyd vocalized her outrage at the incident, saying, “it’s infuriating that somebody who’s enjoying our parks would have to go through something like this.”