A Carrboro woman is on the run after police say she stabbed someone she knew during an overnight assault that left the victim with life-threatening injuries. The attack happened just after midnight on Friday at 101 N.C. 54, an address that corresponds to the Berkshire 54 Apartments complex, and officers are still trying to track down the suspect.
Carrboro police have identified the suspect as 33-year-old Keila Quarles, a Carrboro resident, according to ABC11. A warrant has been issued charging Quarles with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill, the outlet reports, and she fled the area after the stabbing occurred. Investigators believe Quarles is known to frequent the Carrboro and Chapel Hill areas, and authorities have asked anyone who spots her to call 911.
Under North Carolina General Statutes § 14-32(a), assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury is classified as a Class C felony, according to the North Carolina General Assembly. The charge Quarles now faces if apprehended is classified as a Class C felony.
Officers Rendered Aid Before Ambulance Arrived
Carrboro police provided aid before EMS and Carrboro Fire-Rescue personnel arrived on scene, the station's report notes. The victim was then taken to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, which operates an American College of Surgeons-verified Level I Adult Trauma Center, according to UNC Health. Despite the life-threatening injuries, the victim is expected to survive, per the same account. The victim's identity has not been released.
Police say the suspect and victim knew each other, and that the stabbing appears to be an isolated incident, an assessment attributed to Carrboro police. Anyone with information on Quarles's whereabouts is asked to call Chapel Hill-Carrboro-UNC Crime Stoppers at 919-942-7515, while the Carrboro Police Department can be reached directly at 919-918-7397.
Another Violent Incident Along Highway 54 Corridor in Weeks
This is not the first violent incident Carrboro police have investigated along the N.C. 54 corridor this summer. Less than a month earlier, on August 27, officers arrested a 42-year-old man in a Cedarwood Lane apartment and charged him with second-degree murder and felony assault with a deadly weapon after a homicide, according to Carrboro Town News. Cedarwood Lane sits directly off N.C. 54, and Hoodline previously reported on that homicide investigation, which prompted police to ask the public to avoid the area.
The Berkshire 54 complex itself is no stranger to emergency calls. In March 2025, the same address at 101 N.C. 54 was the site of an overnight structure fire that displaced two residents and caused an estimated $75,000 in damage, with 23 firefighters from Carrboro and Chapel Hill responding to put it out, according to the Town of Carrboro.
Violent Crime Remains Rare in Carrboro
Even with two serious incidents in recent weeks, Carrboro remains a town where violent crime is relatively uncommon. FBI crime data compiled by OpenCrime shows Carrboro recorded one homicide in 2024 and had an overall violent crime rate roughly half the national average. Carrboro has recorded single homicides per year in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Carrboro, an Orange County municipality, has a population of approximately 21,000 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. A previous isolated incident was referenced, but no further details are provided here.
