Julian Bryan McArthur, a homeless man from Asheville, North Carolina, is reportedly facing charges after allegedly stabbing a tourist with a hypodermic needle.
Police said the alleged attack occurred on May 31 after McArthur allegedly approached the victim and his family and asked for money, WLOS-TV reported. The victim, a South Carolina native, reportedly said he declined to give McArthur money and kept walking. He then helped his family get settled in their vehicle, he told law enforcement, according to the outlet.
“He suddenly felt like a prick or a sting in his back and turned around and saw the man that had been asking for money,” Detective Nathan Deitiker told the outlet. (RELATED: Actor Michael Stuhlbarg Randomly Attacked By Homeless Man With Rock, Police Say)
ASHEVILLE, NC – Don’t visit unless you want to get stabbed- Locals stay out of asheville
Tourist stabbed with hypodermic needle after refusing money to homeless man, police say https://t.co/mBrcNm6TWz— Save Madison County NC (@madison_save) June 19, 2024
After the incident, the victim was taken to Mission Hospital where they verified the injury was from a hypodermic needle, according to WLOS-TV. The victim has been released on a prescription of antibiotics, authorities said, the outlet reported.
This is not the first time police have dealt with McArthur, Deitiker told the outlet.
“Several, several times for years downtown, there’s an array of crimes that have been committed by him,” Deitiker reportedly said.
Deitiker and other Asheville locals worry about the future of visitors coming to the downtown, the outlet reported.
“You know we do have a lot of folks on the street asking for money and it is kind of unnerving for someone not to get that money and then be attacked especially like that,” Deitiker told the outlet.
“I think it’s sad and it sounds like he has mental health issues,” local Amazon Pam reportedly said.
“That’s scary, it scares off the tourists, doesn’t it? When you hear something like that,” another local, Ernest Williams, told the outlet.
After being arrested on June 17, McArthur was charged with assault with a deadly weapon while intending to cause significant injury, resisting a public official and solicitor ALMS/beg for money, the outlet reported.
McArthur now sits in the Buncombe County Detention Center with a bond of $51,000, WLOS-TV reported.
