A man was slashed in the throat at a bus stop in a North Carolina tourist town after he allegedly asked a stranger for a cigarette.
The Asheville Police Department (APD) said the suspect, a White man, is still on the loose, according to local ABC affiliate WLOS.
Police responded around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday to a report of a fight between two men at a bus stop near downtown. When they arrived, they reportedly found the victim with a laceration on his neck, though he declined medical treatment because his injuries were not life-threatening.
The victim told police that he and the other man got into an altercation after he asked the suspect for a cigarette.
A dawn view of the skyline in Asheville, North Carolina, which has seen rising violent crime in recent years. (Walter Bibikow via Getty Images)
“The suspect pulled out a knife, started swinging, slashed the victim in the throat, and then left the scene prior to the officers’ arrival,” the APD said. The police department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment whether they had learned anything more about the suspect.
The alleged throat slashing came a week after a man armed with a gun threatened to shoot a couple as they left Mellow Mushroom, a popular pizza restaurant downtown. The suspect shoved the woman to the ground and made off with their purse and wallet, according to police.
Buncombe County Courthouse, left, and Asheville City Hall, right, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Fox News Digital)
“That had to be terrifying for those people,” Joni Blackman, a tourist visiting Asheville from Chicago, told the local outlet of the mugging at Mellow Mushroom. “I would say that I’d be surprised at a town this size, you know, a tourist destination, that you would have something like this happen.”
“It’s not the kind of thing I’ve ever heard of in regard to Asheville,” Blackman said. “You hear about artists and the Biltmore, but not crime.” She likened the crime in the historic mountain city to something she would expect in her hometown of Chicago.
Last Saturday, four men stole someone’s car keys at gunpoint downtown at approximately 2:22 a.m., and police have yet to release a description of the suspects, WLOS reported.
The Biltmore Estate, built in 1895, is the biggest tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. (George Rose via Getty Images)
Violent crime in Asheville, which has a population of approximately 90,000 people, has surged in recent years. Aggravated assaults rose by 21.8%, and armed robberies increased by 20% from 2021 to 2022, according to APD statistics.
APD Chief David Zack told Fox News Digital last fall that his department had lost more than 100 sworn officers since May 2020 after tense protests in the city following George Floyd’s death. He said the force is struggling to maintain visibility while “operating at almost 42% down every single day.”
Break-ins in downtown Asheville saw a 200% monthly spike in January, and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office has begun assisting city officers to beef up safety downtown, according to WLOS.
“You hear about artists and the Biltmore, but not crime.”
An investigation by local outlet Asheville Watchdog found in February that only two APD officers had been patrolling downtown despite the skyrocketing violent crime.
WORKERS IN DEMOCRAT-RUN NORTH CAROLINA TOURIST CITY BEMOAN DOWNTOWN DECLINE: ‘REALLY DISTURBING’
“[Two] armed robberies and a slashing in downtown Asheville in a week as [APD] is 60% manned with starting pay on par with working the drive-thru at a fast food restaurant,” former Democratic congressional candidate Moe Davis tweeted Wednesday. “Thank God [Asheville] leaders voted to spend $20M on ballpark upgrades for Mike DeWine’s baseball team!”
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Asheville City Council, all of whom are Democrats, unanimously approved a $37.5 million upgrade to the city’s minor league baseball field and the surrounding area last month, according to WLOS.
