Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Megan Sheets

Knifeman follows woman home in a panda mask and stabs her babysitter say police

Eugene Police Department

A knifeman wearing a sinister panda mask followed a woman home and stabbed her babysitter, police say.

Harrowing video captured the incident outside the unidentified woman’s home in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday evening.

Police said suspect Joshua William Cates, who was wearing a bloody Halloween mask, had followed the woman in her car before attacking her when she parked and propped the door open to get out.

Home surveillance footage shows the pair struggling on the ground by the car before the woman’s babysitter, an unnamed 45-year-old man, came out to help her.

The babysitter was pulling Mr Cates off of the woman when he was stabbed, police said. The wound was not life-threatening.

(Eugene Police Department)

Mr Cates fled the scene, leaving behind his mask. The babysitter and a neighbour attempted to follow him before returning home when they noticed the stab wound.

Mr Cates, 31, was apprehended hours later in the backseat of an acquaintance’s car. Police said he was identified by evidence left at the scene of the assault.

He was arrested and booked into Lane County Jail on charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and coercion, KEZI reported.

It is not known whether Mr Cates has been assigned a lawyer or given an opportunity to enter a plea.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.