|
SOUTHFIELD — A man stabbed two people at a bus stop on Saturday night in Southfield after asking them if they are Muslim, police said. The victims are not Muslim and the suspect is a self-proclaimed Muslim.
Southfield Police Chief Eric Hawkins said people were awaiting the bus calmly when the topic of religion came up, and after the victims indicated that they are not Muslim, the alleged stabber attacked them without provocation.
Police identified the suspect as Terrence Lavaron Thomas, 39, of Detroit.
He was arrested shortly after the incident near the crime scene. He had two knives and marijuana in his possession, police said. The victims, who did not sustain life-threatening wounds, have been released from the hospital.
The suspect stabbed a 52-year-old man five times in the face, neck and back, according to police. When the second victim tried to intervene, he was also stabbed twice. The stabbing occurred around 10:30 p.m. near Northland Mall.
A Muslim doctor treated one of the victims’ injuries at Providence Hospital. The doctor, who wished for his name not to be published, told The Arab American News that the victim told him he had witnessed Thomas talking to himself at the bus station.
“Obviously this guy is delusional and mentally unstable,” the doctor said. “It is common for people for people with paranoia and schizophrenia to have delusions about God and religion, regardless of their faith.”
The Southfield police said in a statement Tuesday that they contacted the FBI, and the bureau is looking into the possibility of a federal hate crime investigation.
Thomas was charged with two counts of assault with intent to murder, a count of carrying a dangerous weapon and a count of possession of marijuana. He could also face state and federal charges of ethnic intimidation and hate crime, according to Hawkins.
“We are in close contact with federal authorities,” Hawkins said. “We are always sharing the information we have with our federal partners to prevent such events from happening in the future.”
The Southfield stabbing come less than a week after three Muslim students were murdered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Leave a Reply