The Palm Beach Post

Sixty- year- old victim: 'He was just waiting'

Woman recalls stabbing incident April 8 along Flagler Drive waterfront.

- By Julius Whigham II Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

It began as a typical Sunday morning bicy

cle ride for Suzanne, a 60-yearold West Palm Beach resident. It ended in the most frightenin­g moment of her life.

She was traveling along the Flagler Drive waterfront on the morning of April 8 when she noticed a man sitting near the Royal Park Bridge, waiting.

In a moment, Suzanne recalled, the man grabbed her, tried to reach into her backpack, then stabbed her in the chest before

running away.

“The guy was sitting there waiting, and he just jumped me,” said Suzanne, who asked that she only be identified by her first name. “He just came at me, just rammed me with his hand, grabbed my

bike to stop me.”

She recalled the experience Wednesday, four days after she

was released from St. Mary’s Medical Center. Suzanne said the man forced her to the ground as he tried to reach into her backpack.

“I was just screaming,” Suzanne recalled. “He told me to, ‘Shut up, (expletive),’ took the knife out of his pocket, stabbed me once and pulled it out.

“I said, ‘Please don’t kill me.’ “

West Palm Beach police have released a photo and a video of the suspect. No arrests had been made as of noon Wednesday.

Suzanne said she neither recognized the man nor recalled seeing him before.

“It just happened so fast,” she said. “It was premeditat­ed. If it wasn’t me, it would have been somebody else. He was just waiting for someone.”

The city’s Downtown Developmen­t Authority recently announced plans to increase the police presence along Clematis Street just north of the bridge, where another woman was stabbed last month outside a sushi restaurant.

Police arrested and charged Chad Bailey, 23, in that attack. Bailey later told police investigat­ors the attack was prompted by others picking on him for being homeless.

On Tuesday, the Downtown Developmen­t Authority’s board approved $35,000 for an additional police officer to patrol the Clematis district during the next three months.

“These are not characteri­stic of our place at all,” DDA Executive Director Raphael Clemente said of the recent attacks. “We don’t have these incidents. To have two of these in a short period of time concerns everyone. We want to do what we can to help in addressing the community’s concerns.”

Suzanne said she did not believe what happened to her was an issue of homelessne­ss and believes the city must address several factors to improve security downtown, including monitoring the actions of people who frequent the entertainm­ent district’s bars.

“If you’re going to have what you want down there, the night life you have there, the serving of alcohol openly, it makes no sense not to (have extra security),” she said Wednesday.

“What happened to me is not a homeless issue. If they want to really examine downtown, they have to look at all the factors.”

Suzanne is staying off her bike while she recovers from her injuries but said she plans to resume her rides when she’s healthy.

“I wouldn’t live here if I couldn’t do it,” she said. “It’s the best part of living here.”

Police are asking anyone who may have seen the suspect in the downtown area April 8 is asked to call West Palm Beach police at 561822-1823 or 561-822-1782, or Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 800-458TIPS (8477).

 ?? JULIUS WHIGHAM II / THE PALM BEACH POST ?? Suzanne, a 60-year-old West Palm Beach woman who was stabbed under the Royal Park Bridge along the Flagler Drive waterfront on the morning of April 8, shows her scars Wednesday.
JULIUS WHIGHAM II / THE PALM BEACH POST Suzanne, a 60-year-old West Palm Beach woman who was stabbed under the Royal Park Bridge along the Flagler Drive waterfront on the morning of April 8, shows her scars Wednesday.
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D BY WEST PALM BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT ?? West Palm Beach police released this photo of a man they wanted to question in relation to the April 8 stabbing of a woman at the Royal Park Bridge.
CONTRIBUTE­D BY WEST PALM BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT West Palm Beach police released this photo of a man they wanted to question in relation to the April 8 stabbing of a woman at the Royal Park Bridge.

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