An Ames Hy-Vee employee was left with neck and arm injuries after a stabbing inside the store shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, and police have charged a 21-year-old city man with attempted murder in connection with the attack. Officers responded to the westside Hy-Vee, in the 3800 block of Lincoln Way, and found the woman injured before rescue crews rushed her to a hospital.
According to an Ames Police Department news release cited by the Iowa State Daily, officers responded at 8:06 p.m. Tuesday to the Hy-Vee in west Ames and located a woman with neck injuries. Separately, amestrib.com reported that officers located a female employee with injuries to her neck and arm. Emergency radio traffic indicated that the Ames Fire Department rescue crew found the woman conscious and breathing, with her bleeding already controlled.
Rescue Crew Rushes Victim to Des Moines-Area Hospital
The woman was taken to a Des Moines-area hospital for treatment. Accounts of her condition since then have diverged: Yahoo News reported she was in stable condition, while the Iowa State Daily reported that Ames police had released neither the woman's name nor her condition. Hoodline could not independently reconcile those two accounts.
While emergency crews treated the victim, officers located a suspect in a vehicle near the scene, according to the police release. He was identified as 21-year-old Timothy Cooke of Ames, and KCCI reported that Cooke was found in a nearby vehicle and arrested. He was charged with attempt to commit murder, a class B felony under Iowa law, and booked into the Story County Jail.
No Known Altercation Before the Attack, Police Say
KCCI's report, citing the criminal complaint, states that the victim did not know Cooke and that there was no known altercation or other provocation for the stabbing. The lack of any apparent connection between the two has left the circumstances of the attack unclear even as the case moves forward. The investigation into the stabbing remains ongoing, according to the same report from Yahoo News.
Iowa's attempt-to-commit-murder statute, under Iowa Code section 707.11, classifies the offense as a class B felony. As with any criminal charge, it remains an accusation, and Cooke is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Police Ask Public for Tips
Ames police are asking anyone with information about the stabbing to call the department at 515-239-5133. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to the Ames Police Department's tip line at 515-239-5533 or to Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa at 515-223-1400 or through crimestoppersofcentraliowa.com.
