Knife attack in restroom at Pierce Co. Safeway leads to arrest
A 31-year-old man is in jail after allegedly stabbing another man at a Safeway in University Place on Wednesday afternoon.
According to documents from Pierce County Superior Court, the man is an employee at the Safeway at 3842 Bridgeport Way W. He is facing a charge of first-degree assault.
The News Tribune does not generally name suspects before they are formally charged.
Police received a call from the store manager at about 1:33 p.m. on June 17, documents say, claiming one of her employees was attacked with a knife.
One of the officers who arrived on scene, Jan Salman, interviewed the suspect, documents say. The suspect allegedly had a bloody lip and a swollen spot above his right eyebrow. When Salman asked the suspect what happened, the suspect said he had been using the restroom when the alleged victim confronted him and asked him why he was taking so long on the toilet.
The suspect then allegedly told Salman the men started fighting, and claimed the alleged victim pulled out the knife.
“[The suspect] stated he was able to trap [the alleged victim’s arm and take the knife away from [the alleged victim],” Salman wrote.
The suspect then allegedly told Salman the victim ran out of the store.
The suspect’s partner then showed up to the Safeway with their child, Salman wrote, and told police the knife belonged to the suspect, who allegedly uses it to cut boxes.
Police booked the suspect into Pierce County Jail at 3 p.m., according to jail records. He has an arraignment scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today in Pierce County Superior Court.
Interview with alleged victim
Another police officer, Christopher Coffin, arrived on scene and started looking at surveillance footage, the documents say. The surveillance footage showed the alleged victim pacing outside the bathroom door for several minutes.
“After some time, [the alleged victim] knocks on the door, then he goes out of frame and into the bathroom, where [the suspect] was,” Coffin wrote. “After some time, both [the alleged victim] and [the suspect] come out of the bathroom. [The alleged victim] comes out first, and keeps looking back at [the suspect.]”
The alleged victim then tried to run away from the suspect towards the front of the store, documents say, and appeared afraid. The men ended up just outside of the doors to the back of the store, documents say, and the suspect allegedly pulled a silver pocket knife out of his pants pockets and chased after the alleged victim with the knife.
“As they run down the aisle, [the suspect] jumps on the back of [the alleged victim],and swings his right hand, with the knife, towards [the alleged victim’s right shoulder/neck area,” documents say. “...They are then too far away in the video to see the rest of the scuffle. After a few seconds, the camera at the front door of the store shows [the alleged victim] running out.”
Salman told the suspect his story did not line up with the surveillance footage, and the suspect allegedly doubled down on his account of the events.
The alleged victim called 911 a few minutes later from his workplace, the documents say, and claimed he had been stabbed by a Safeway employee. When police arrived to talk to the alleged victim, he was allegedly hunched over and struggling to move his left arm.
Coffin said the alleged victim told him he went to the Safeway to get lunch and really needed to use the restroom. The alleged victim said he waited about 10 minutes, then knocked on the door, and the suspect allegedly opened the restroom door and confronted him for knocking.
“A brief argument ensued and they began to mutually fight in the bathroom,” Coffin wrote. “During the fight, the bathroom was destroyed. The stall was knocked off the anchor points and the toilet was completely knocked off of the ground.”
The alleged victim told Coffin he was “getting the better” of the suspect during the fight, when the suspect allegedly began reaching for something.
“[The alleged victim stated that [the suspect] ‘had that look on his face,’ like he wanted to hurt him or kill him,” Coffin wrote.
Coffin said the alleged victim told him the suspect struck him with the knife in the side of the neck, and then stabbed him in the back. Coffin examined the alleged victim’s wounds and noticed a bandage around his stomach and “a large amount of blood” on the lower half of his back that stained his clothes.
The victim also had a large stab wound on the lower side of his back, the documents say. He told Coffin that one of his coworkers had bandaged him up before he called 911.
“The victim’s statement was consistent with the surveillance footage, while [the suspect] provided multiple inconsistent explanations regarding the knife and his actions,” Salman wrote. “Based on the victim’s injury, the surveillance footage, physical evidence, and the suspect’s contradictory statement, I had probable causes to believe the suspect intentionally assaulted the alleged victim with a deadly weapon and caused substantial bodily harm.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 1:00 PM.
