Knifed for ‘being a Christian’? Suspect allegedly stabs man and his dog after asking about victim’s religion

A suspect allegedly stabbed a man and his dog Sunday in Washington state after the suspect asked the victim what religion he is, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said.

The 54-year-old male victim called 911 reporting that an unknown male stabbed him near the S S Quickstop Grocery in Parkland just before 6:30 a.m. and that the male fled southbound on Park Avenue S., officials said. Parkland is about 45 minutes south of Seattle.

‘This would actually be a hate crime based on religion.’

When deputies arrived, the victim was in serious condition and told deputies the unknown man had come up to him and asked what religion he was, officials said.

“The victim answered the man and said something about being a Christian, and the man then attacked and stabbed the victim and his dog,” officials added.

The victim provided a description of the suspect prior to being transported to a local hospital; the victim’s dog was also in serious condition and was transported to a local animal hospital and was taken into surgery immediately, officials said.

Deputies used a K-9 to search the area for more than two hours but were unable to locate the suspect, officials said.

At 8:40 a.m. while conducting an area check, a deputy saw the suspect in the 800 block of 112th St. S, and the suspect fled behind a nearby home, officials said.

Deputies followed the suspect and reported that shots had been fired at 8:47 a.m., officials said.

KOMO-TV reported that the sheriff’s office confirmed the suspect was dead and that multiple deputies shot the suspect.

The sheriff’s office added to KOMO that the suspect was armed with multiple knives, was resisting arrest, and approached deputies before shots were fired.

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Detectives do not know the suspect’s identity or his connection, if any, to the area or the house he fled behind, KOMO added.

KING-TV said the stabbing victim, Eddie Nitschke, lives in the convenience store’s parking lot in a car with his girlfriend and two dogs.

Nitschke told KING he initially responded to the suspect that he wasn’t religious, but the suspect kept pushing the issue about what religion he was, after which Nitschke told the suspect, “I guess Christian.”

The suspect then accused Nitschke of pursuing him, KING added: “He said, ‘You’ve been looking for me for some time,’ and I said, ‘I don’t even know you.'”

KING said the suspect soon struck Nitschke multiple times with two knives and punctured his lung.

During the attack, Nitschke told his girlfriend to release their dog from the car, KING reported, adding that the dog attacked the suspect and was also stabbed.

“My shirt was drenched with blood,” Nitschke recounted to KING.

More from KING:

At the hospital, Nitschke discovered the suspect was being treated in an adjacent room. While being interviewed by police, he heard commotion next door.

“And then I’m sitting there and then I hear ‘Code red, code red’ and they wheeled the guy in right beside me in the next room,” Nitschke said.

After learning the suspect had died, Nitschke said he felt conflicted.

“When I found out that he died, I thought to myself, ‘Oh, he died.’ I felt bad, but then I thought, ‘He just stabbed me,’” he said.

Nitschke discharged himself from the hospital, KING said.

“They didn’t want to let me go,” he recalled to KING. “I just don’t want to be in the hospital. I wanted to find out about my dog.” It appears from KING’s video report that the dog is OK.

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More than 500 comments have appeared under the sheriff’s office Facebook post about the incident. As you might imagine, some commenters didn’t take too kindly to the suspect’s actions apparently related to the victim reportedly telling him he’s a Christian.

• “I believe this would be on major news if he, the victim, wasn’t Christian,” one commenter wrote.
• “This would actually be a hate crime based on religion,” another user said. “Will it be prosecuted that way? Doubtful due to the religion being Christianity.”
• “It’s not a hate crime if the victim is Christian,” another user said with seeming sarcasm.
• “No protests?” another commenter wondered with tongue fully in cheek.
• “Another hate crime attack that the mainstream media will ignore since facts don’t support their agenda,” another user stated. “Libs will post laughing emojis since they are mentally ill and have twisted morals.”

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