State Knife Laws, City & County Ordinances

[IL] 4-year-old daughter witnesses fatal knife attack - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
JOLIET — Police say a domestic fight resulted in a couple stabbing each other in front of their young daughter Monday, killing the man.
Around 6:30 a.m., William and Maureen Krok were preparing breakfast in the kitchen of the couple’s house at 1260 Elizabeth St., Chief Fred Hayes said. ... read more...

[AL] Man accused of knife attack - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Police are looking for a suspect in the stabbing of a man and woman Sunday night.
A 23-year-old woman told police that Benjamin McNeill, 22, was drinking alcohol Sunday evening with her and a 49-year-old man, said Capt. Huey Thornton, police spokesman.
The woman said McNeill suddenly became violent and started stabbing the man with a folding knife without being provoked, Thornton said. ... read more...

[TX] Teenager arrested in knife attack after 3-day search - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
DICKINSON — A 15-year-old accused of plunging a kitchen knife into the back of a classmate at Dickinson High School was arrested Friday after a three-day search, police said.
The teen surrendered to police about 2:30 p.m. after family members directed police to an apartment complex in Seabrook, Dickinson police Detective Tim Cromie said. ... read more...

[NY] Woman fights off knife attack in Deer Park - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A 53-year-old woman just finshing up Mother's Day shopping in Deer Park managed to fight off an attacker she couldn't see who pressed a 10-inch knife to her throat.
The attacker, who police said is a parolee with a lengthy rap sheet, assaulted the woman as she loaded bags into her car Friday. As she fought him, she screamed in vain for help, but no one intervened. ... read more...

[WI] Police Arrest 15 Year Old Sheboygan Girl After They Say Knife Attack Was False - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) -- Police say they have arrested a 15-year-old Sheboygan girl after she made up a story about being attacked by a knife-wielding suspect on her way to school.
Captain David Derus says the Sheboygan North High School student told school officials that someone had assaulted yesterday and dragged her along a sidewalk. ... read more...

[IA] Victim of knife attack recovering quickly - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The victim of a throat-slashing in a Des Moines park last week is able to speak.
Amanda McPhee, 18, cleared the first hurdle by surviving a knife attack April 29 at Water Works Park, then surprised hospital staff with a speedy recovery, said her father, Keith McPhee.
"Her left vocal cord doesn't move because of nerve damage," he said. "In six months it may correct itself. If it doesn't, they may move it over to make her voice louder." ... read more...

[IL] Student, 16, pleads guilty to attempted murder in knife attack on Elgin teacher - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A teenager charged with stabbing a teacher at Elgin High School pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted first-degree murder during a Cook County Juvenile Court proceeding.
Angel Facio Jr., 16, of Elgin admitted to allegations in a delinquency petition that he had attacked Carolyn Gilbert, a former teacher, after asking if he could wait in her classroom for a bus. Other charges were dropped in return for the plea. ... read more...

[CA] Knife attack in Clearlake leaves man dead - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
CLEARLAKE -- Clearlake resident Nicolai Chukreeff, 40, died from a knife wound Sunday night, according to a Clearlake Police Department press release. Police are questioning "several subjects" in an ongoing investigation, according to the release.
A report of a gunshot victim at the Harbor Light Resort on Lakeshore Drive brought police to the scene just after 10:30 p.m. Chukreeff was found with "a large laceration to his chest consistent with a knife wound," according to the CPD release.
"A stab wound would typically be in and out; this was more of a fillet. It was an open laceration and a deep stab wound that went across his chest," Hermann said. ... read more...

[NH] Police arrest woman in knife attack - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
MANCHESTER – Police arrested a Candia woman yesterday in connection with the early-morning stabbing of another woman, who drove herself to the Elliot Hospital for treatment of a stab wound to the neck.
Kaitlin O'Flaherty, 18, of 21 Forest St., was arrested on a first-degree assault charge yesterday morning at her home. She is accused of stabbing Kristin Yianakopolos, 24, of 1465 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, in the neck. ... read more...

[IN] C.L. woman charged in knife attack - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
CEDAR LAKE | A Cedar Lake woman was charged Monday with two felonies after allegedly stabbing her husband in the arm with a butcher knife and burning his nose with a lit cigarette in front of their school-aged daughter, court records show.
Dawn Garcia, 41, faces charges of domestic battery and battery in connection with the fight. ... read more...

[NY] Man jailed in Otsego knife attack - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A Schoharie County man was jailed Sunday after he allegedly stabbed a Schenevus resident several times in his county Route 34 home.
   Gerald W. Jenkins Jr., 44, of Richmondville, was charged with first-degree assault, a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor.
   Jenkins went to the home of Dean Drysdale, 40, and stabbed Drysdale "multiple" times in the back, chest, arms and hands, said Investigator Michael Ten Eyck of the Otsego County Sheriff's Department.
   A kitchen-type knife believed to have been used in the attack was recovered, Ten Eyck said. ... read more...

[UK] Cop Saves Himself From Knife Attack - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
[Video of police booking suspect, who pulls out concealed knife and attacks officer] read more...

[TN] One charged in fatal Grundy County knife attack - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A man is dead and another is behind bars following a Thursday night fight in Grundy County, according to sheriff’s deputies.
Christopher Hill is being held on a charge of criminal homicide related to the death of Travis King, officials said. ... read more...

[UT] Man charged in alleged butter-knife attack - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A man who was harassing a woman at her apartment allegedly boasted he was carrying seven knives before trying to stab her and her building manager with a butter knife.
In court documents filed Tuesday, police wrote that the woman was trying to call police during the Aug. 22 assault, when the man knocked the phone out of her hand with his butter knife. The building manager and the woman managed to get the man out of the apartment, near 300 East and Crimson Circle in Salt Lake City, but the man broke the door and re-entered the apartment. He tried to stab them again before leaving, police wrote. ... read more...

[NY] Rochester man charged in knife attack on police officer - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) _ A 28-year-old man is charged with stabbing a Rochester police officer whose protective vest kept him from suffering more serious injuries.
Police department officials say 26-year-old Officer Robert Osipovitch was attacked by John Sterling after responding to a call Thursday night. Authorities say Sterling stabbed the officer several times in the torso with a kitchen knife but the bulletproof vest stopped the thrusts. ... read more...

[IN] 85-year sentence for knife attack on Gary woman, son - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
CROWN POINT, Ind. - A man prosecutors say killed a Gary woman in a knife attack and then forced her 13-year-old son to help clean up her blood has received an 85-year prison sentence.
Sharde McKinney was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty last month to charges of murder and attempted murder for the attack on 45-year-old Nina Moss-Curtis and her son. ... read more...

[CO] Fort Collins Knife Attack May Be Gang Motivated - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Fort Collins police are investigating a stabbing near a bus stop that may be gang motivated.
The incident happened late Sunday night in the 1000 block of South Taft Hill Road.
Police said Gerald Batrez, 21, of Fort Collins, was walking with a woman and became involved in an altercation with two men and two women. He was stabbed in the abdomen and arm during the fight and was rushed to Medical Center of the Rockies for treatment of his injuries. The women he was with was not hurt. ... read more...

[VT] New charges for Bennington man in alleged knife attack - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
BENNINGTON — The state has filed new charges against Elliot S. "Face" Russell, who was accused in December of attacking two men with a knife, about three months after pleading guilty to stabbing a third man in March 2007.
Russell was charged with two felony counts of second-degree attempted murder in December. On Monday, the charges were modified in Bennington County District Court to include two felony charges each of attempted involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault with a weapon.
Russell has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. ... read more...

[NY] Porn mix-up lands woman in jail after knife attack - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A woman has been arrested after chasing her boyfriend with a knife after thinking he was an actor in a pornographic movie.
The victim says he and his girlfriend were watching a porn movie when she suddenly decided he was an actor in the film. She grabbed a knife and put it under his throat. ... read more...

[UK] RICHARDS STILL CARRIES ILLEGAL KNIFE FOR SELF DEFENCE - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
ROLLING STONES star KEITH RICHARDS breaks the law by carrying a deadly knife everywhere he goes - as a means of self defence.
The 64-year-old guitarist has long been known to own a ratchet knife with a six-inch blade, and he still carries it tucked in his trousers.
Richards admits his knife has been a constant companion after he learnt how to use it on a trip to Jamaica. ... read more...

[US] Under or Over Clothing? - Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Disparate state and local knife laws make it difficult for Sikhs to determine how to wear their kirpans.
   “Laws regarding knives are a hodgepodge of legislative action, some of which dates back to the 1800's,” says the American Knife and Tool Institute on its Web site.
   Some states have no knife laws, but their individual counties, cities, and towns can have their own knife ordinances.
   These laws determine whether it is legal or not to have a kirpan longer than 2.5 inches in public, carry it onto federal or school property or store it in your car. But for Sikhs, the biggest problem is whether to wear it under or over a shirt. ... read more...

[NH] Friends recount knife attack - Wednesday, April 30, 2008
MANCHESTER – Finding his estranged wife at her girlfriend's apartment, Malual Woltong jumped on top of her and repeatedly stabbed her in the stomach. Her two friends helped her escape, but only briefly, before Woltong caught up with her outside and stabbed her in the back Friday, according to eyewitnesses.
"It looked like he wanted to kill her," one of those witnesses, Angier Ajak, told the New Hampshire Sunday News yesterday. ... read more...

[MT] Man sentenced for knife attack - Wednesday, April 30, 2008
A 45-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years at the Montana State Prison for an unprovoked knife attack last year in downtown Billings.
Ricky Louie Woody also was ordered by District Judge Ingrid Gustafson to pay $10,593 in restitution. The judge said she would recommend Woody for mental health and substance abuse treatment while he is incarcerated. ... read more...

[NJ] Waterford man sentenced to 8 years in claw hammer and knife assault - Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Ronald J. Hess, 46, of Waterford, was sentenced Friday to concurrent sentences totaling eight years in New Jersey state prison for his conviction on assault and weapons charges in a November 30, 2005 attack on a Williamstown man outside a Monroe Township diner.
...
A Gloucester County jury on March 5 found Hess guilty of second-degree conspiracy, second-degree aggravated assault and weapons offenses in a hammer-and-knife attack on 42-year-old Kenneth Jackson in the parking lot of Geet's Diner on the Black Horse Pike. ... read more...

[UK] Knifings and Shootings Up as Murder Rate Soars - Wednesday, April 30, 2008
THERE has been a huge increase in being people shot, stabbed and even kicked to death since Labour came to power.
Shocking statistics released last night show a 14 per cent increase in murder and manslaughter in England and Wales between 1998 and 2007.
There was also a 28 per cent increase in deaths from bladed weapons. Those killed by shootings increased by the same figure. ... read more...

[IL] Pregnant woman accused in Belleville knife attack - Wednesday, April 30, 2008
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Police in Belleville say a woman is accused of cutting and trying to run over a woman she suspected of cheating with her boyfriend.
St. Clair County prosecutors charged 19-year-old Aleshia Davis with criminal misdemeanor battery, criminal damage to property and reckless driving. ... read more...

[NC] Good Samaritan Survives Knife Attack - Wednesday, April 30, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) – A man who reportedly tried to help someone in need, ended up getting stabbed in the neck, according to police.
Josh Brown lives in the Deerwood Crossing Apartments, south of Interstate 40 off Highway 150. ... read more...

[NH] Milford man admits knife attack on officer - Wednesday, April 30, 2008
NASHUA – A Milford man admitted Tuesday to slashing a police officer while attempting "suicide by cop" and was sentenced to at least one year in jail, most of which he has already served.
Christopher Dadley, 28, formerly of 95 Powers St., has been jailed since his arrest May 26, and the time he's served will count toward his sentence. ... read more...

[OR] Knife Attack Suspect Arrested In SE Portland - Wednesday, April 30, 2008
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Police have arrested a man wanted in connection with an unprovoked knife attack, Clackamas County deputies said Monday.
Portland police took Josiah Demeire into custody at a home on Southeast Harold Street after an hour-long standoff Monday afternoon.
Demeire is accused of attacking a Tualatin man with a knife last Thursday in a parking lot on Southeast 82nd Avenue. Clackamas County deputies said the stabbing was unprovoked and Demeire ran off before they arrived. ... read more...

[LA] Woman accused of attack with pocket knife - Wednesday, April 30, 2008
A Princeton woman is in custody after allegedly slicing up another woman with a pocket knife Sunday.
Crystal Marie Rose, 23, is charged with aggravated battery. The charge may be upgraded to second-degree murder, according to Ed Baswell, Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman. ... read more...

[PA] Maidencreek Township man charged in knife attack - Sunday, April 27, 2008
A 43-year-old Maidencreek Township man was arrested after he returned to his blood-splattered residence Friday morning hours after stabbing his estranged girlfriend several times with a kitchen knife, police said.
Bertulio Vivar-Lopez of the 500 block of Wyatt Drive was charged by Northern Berks Regional police with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and related charges. He was awaiting arraignment late Friday in the Berks County Central Processing Center. ... read more...

[IL] Man sentenced to 18 years for knife attack - Sunday, April 27, 2008
A downstate Manteno man who slashed the throat of a friend during a fight last year in Grayslake pleaded guilty to attempted murder Tuesday.
Henry Bostic, 42, was sentenced to 18 years in prison following the plea. ... read more...

[NH] Man suffers minor injury in knife attack - Sunday, April 27, 2008
A 29-year-old man was slashed on his arm last night by a man with three other people who were blocking entry to his residence, police said.
The incident happened about 11 p.m. in the rear of 1287 Elm St.
Lt. Richard Charbonneau said the man suffered a "superficial wound" to his arm. ... read more...

[PA] Bern Township man hurt in knife attack near bus station - Sunday, April 27, 2008
Reading, PA - A 28-year-old Bern Township man was stabbed Thursday night near Third and Court streets and police arrested his attacker minutes later after seeing him running with a pocketknife in his hand, authorities said.
Sean Davis was stabbed once in the back and once in the forehead outside the Inter-City Bus Terminal shortly after 9 p.m., police said. Davis ran to the 300 block of Washington Street, where police found him. ... read more...

[TX] Man wounded in truck stop knife attack - Sunday, April 27, 2008
A Las Vegas man was wounded Sunday night while fending off a knife-wielding trucker.
The incident happened shortly after Jester Otero-Mendoza, 27, parked his 18-wheeler at the Flying J truck stop at Interstate 35 and New Road shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday. Another trucker drove up and said something to Mendoza about moving his truck, a Waco Police Department release stated.
Mendoza didn’t understand what the man wanted, but he backed up his truck. The other driver allegedly got in an argument with Mendoza and came at him with a hunting knife, Waco Police spokesman Steve Anderson said. ... read more...

[MD] ATV Rider Killed in Knife Attack in Woods - Sunday, April 27, 2008
A man was fatally slashed and another was critically wounded in the Clinton section of Prince George's County last night when they were apparently attacked while riding all-terrain vehicles on a wooded tract, county police said.
A police officer on his way to the scene was injured in a traffic incident, authorities said. ... read more...

[CA] Man, Boy Accused Of Lincoln Knife Attack - Sunday, April 27, 2008
LINCOLN, Calif. -- An 18-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of attacking two boys with knives in Lincoln.
Police said a 14-year-old suffered minor injuries in the incident. ... read more...

[MA] Machete ban mulled after slew of attacks - Sunday, April 27, 2008
In the aftermath of an eruption of machete attacks across the Bay State, a Boston city councilor is proposing a ban on carrying the weapons in the Hub.
“There’s no legitimate reason for carrying a machete on the street,” said Roxbury City Councilor Chuck Turner. “We’re not in a situation where people are cutting cane in fields and using it for the kinds of the labor that it’s used for in other parts of the world.”
This year there have been at least seven machete attacks in Boston, Lynn, Springfield and Chicopee, according to police reports and news accounts. ... read more...

[MN] Souvenir swords get two expelled - Thursday, April 24, 2008
Two students attending Eagan and Apple Valley high schools were expelled last week after buying souvenir swords during a spring break choir trip in the United Kingdom.
A chaperone found the duct-taped boxes that held the swords after the students left the store. The swords were confiscated on the trip and never made it to Minnesota. The students flew home several days early, and the district disciplined the students when they returned.
"The severity of the punishment didn't fit the crime here," said Brad Briggs, 45, an Eagan resident and father of one of the expelled teens. "There was no intent of violence." ... read more...

[UK] The police: The knives are out - Wednesday, April 23, 2008
... After it was made illegal to sell a knife, or any sharp object that could be used as a weapon, to anyone under the age of 18, youths who wanted weapons started to look elsewhere. "Ten years ago you'd see combat knives when you stopped and searched someone," Inspector Bowen-Long says. "Now it's almost always a kitchen knife."
This move to kitchen knives has arguably caused the police more problems than the crackdown on apparently more threatening blades solved: cheap knives designed to chop food cost as little as £1 in high-street hardware stores, bringing them within the means of the youngest potential offenders. This rise in the £1 weapon has made them disposable, meaning they can be left in strategic positions for a planned act of violence in the knowledge that if they are taken by someone else, it is no great loss. ... read more...

[OK] Woman charged with knife attack - Wednesday, April 23, 2008
STILWELL – Adair County prosecutors have charged an area woman with assault and battery with a deadly weapon after she allegedly stabbed a local man.
Stephanie Bruner, 34, is charged with stabbing Michael Miller, who has a Tahlequah address, with an 8-inch knife. The incident occurred late April 1 in a residence near Stilwell. ... read more...

[MD] Salisbury Teen Charged in Knife Attack - Wednesday, April 23, 2008
SALISBURY, Md.- Police have charged as an adult a 17-year-old female accused of attacking another person with a knife.
On Thursday at around 4:11 p.m., deputies from the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office responded to a reported assault at a home on Dove Street. ... read more...

[NJ] Man charged in knife attack at South Bound Brook bar - Wednesday, April 23, 2008
A 51-year-old man was arrested Wednesday night after he got drunk, shouted at a fellow bar patron and then lunged at the man with a knife, authorities said today.
Gary Sanborn of South Bound Brook was drinking at the South Side Grille just after 11 p.m., said Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne J. Forrest. Armed with a three-inch Winchester folding knife, Sanborn stabbed Douglas Hardgrove, 47, in the right elbow, causing a two-inch wound, Forrest said. ... read more...

[WA] Police search for suspect in Kent motel attack - Wednesday, April 23, 2008
KENT, Wash. - Police have released surveillance pictures in a brutal knife attack on a motel clerk at the Days Inn on Meeker Street.
They say a motel guest took heroic actions to stop the attack Tuesday night.
The man police are looking for came into the motel at around 8 p.m., face covered and holding a knife. ... read more...

[AZ] Man held in knife attack outside bar - Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Mesa police responded to an assault with a weapon early Sunday outside a bar. The incident occurred at the Hambone Sports Bar and Grill, 903 E. Main St., about 3:30 a.m., records show.
Officers spoke with the victim, Arthur Montoya, police said. ... read more...

[IN] Blind homeowner captures intruder - Wednesday, April 23, 2008
A blind homeowner used the wrestling skills he learned more than 30 years ago to overpower an intruder and hold the man at knifepoint until police arrived this morning.
“I just kind of panicked and just kind of went crazy after that,” Allan Kieta said. “I’ve wrestled all my life. My dad’s a Marine; he taught me some stuff. You’re thinking in your head all this survival stuff.” ... read more...