News footage of the Dollar Tree store in Inkster, Mich., where a woman was stabbed (WDIV).
A Michigan woman who was spending a regular day at a local Dollar Tree was allegedly attacked by a stranger.
Stephen Ross, 22, was charged with three counts of assault in connection with an alleged attack on 63-year-old Phyllis Robinson. According to the Inkster Police Department, officers responded to a call about a stabbing at the Dollar Tree store in Inkster, Michigan, at 3:15 p.m. on Monday. Witnesses told officers that the alleged attack was "unprovoked."
Robinson was taken to the hospital, where she remains in critical condition. Ross was apprehended at the scene and is currently in custody.
Police said Ross "retrieved a knife from merchandise inside the store" before stabbing Robinson "multiple times."
Local NBC affiliate WDIV spoke to other Dollar Tree customers who said both Ross and Robinson were regulars at the store. The outlet reported that Ross lived at a group home located about half a mile from the store, and he allegedly had a history of violent behavior.
An employee of the group home who spoke to WDIV but remained anonymous told the outlet that Ross "can get real angry about nothing, like any little thing could tick him off — like nothing. Even a person telling him 'no' would tick him off." The same employee said he saw Ross about an hour before the alleged attack, but he did not seem agitated.
When the employee heard about the alleged attack, he said he had "hoped that it wasn't him, but it was him." He told WDIV, "A lady said a random man walked in Dollar Tree … so, in my mind, I'm trying to hope that it's not him, but I already think it in my mind. I'm like, man, hold on, that's too close."
According to the Inkster Police Department, Ross was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. No other hearings appear on his online court records. Ross was charged with assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, and assault with a dangerous weapon.
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