A Christian man has been released from a local hospital in Washington state after being stabbed by a stranger who asked him to identify his religion in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The victim had identified himself as Christian before he and his dog were viciously stabbed by the suspect.
In a statement posted to Facebook Sunday, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office in Pierce County, Washington, said, “When deputies arrived, the victim was in serious condition and told deputies the unknown man had come up to him and asked what religion he was. The victim answered the man and said something about being a Christian, and the man then attacked and stabbed the victim and his dog.”
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office added that “the victim was able to provide a description of the male suspect prior to being transported to a local hospital.” Although the attack was captured on a security camera, authorities declined to publicly identify the suspect’s race or identity, but said he was armed with multiple knives.
Authorities also did not identify the race of the victim, but said he was a 54-year-old male who had called 911 to report the attack.
Both the victim and his dog were in serious condition when law enforcement arrived at the scene.
The suspect, who attempted to escape capture by law enforcement, was spotted during an “area check” more than two hours later and found hiding behind a nearby home.
ABC News affiliate KOMO reported that the suspect had been discovered with “multiple knives” and resisted arrest. After he lunged at deputies, the suspect was shot and then transported to a nearby hospital to treat his injury. He was later pronounced dead.
According to Sgt. Charles Porche, public information officer for the Force Investigation Team, investigators are working to “collect evidence” and interview witnesses.
“If there’s any witnesses, they’ll talk to people that live in that area to find out if they know anything, if they heard anything, if they saw anything,” Porche said of the investigation.
A subsequent report from KING-TV identified the victim as Eddie Nitschke, who later discharged himself from the hospital.
Nitschke lives in his car, which is parked in the parking lot outside the convenience store, with his girlfriend and dogs.
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