JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was arrested after stabbing a housekeeper Thursday morning at a Northside hotel, police said.
Andrew Scott, 30, is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the attack happened about 8:30 a.m. at the River City Inn on Harts Road near Dunn Avenue. News4Jax cameras captured emergency crews responding to the hotel.
An arrest report shows a woman was sweeping the walkway along the second floor when Scott approached her with a knife in his hand, pushed her down, and stabbed and cut her before she was able to push him away and run away.
Brenda Ruff said she witnessed the stabbing and that the housekeeper was covered in blood.
"The stabbing happened up here on the second floor in the back. She ran from all the way there to the office, holding her neck," Ruff said. "I looked at her and was, like, 'What room?' And then I looked and she had blood all over her and she said, 'Why wouldn't nobody help me?' Then I looked again, real shocked, and said, 'It's you that's been stabbed.'"
According to the arrest report, police found Scott in one of the hotel rooms and took him into custody. Police said a knife was found in his backpack, but it is unknown whether it was the same knife used in the attack. Police also noted in the report that he threw the room phone, chair and folding bed support off the second-floor walkway and into the parking lot, damaging the items.
Ruff and others said they also saw the man being taken away from the scene in a patrol car.
"I was walking back from taking my kids to school and that’s when I saw the fire truck and all the ambulances and the cops," said Brittney Jowers, who works across the street. "By the time I got back over here to work, that’s when they were all over there pulling in the parking lot and stuff."
Police said the woman was taken to UF Health hospital, where she told officers that she had no prior interactions with Scott and had no idea why he attacked her. A doctor told police that the woman had serious injuries, but the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.
According to the arrest report, police watched hotel surveillance video that confirmed the attack appeared to be random.
Scott was booked into the Duval County jail just after noon Thursday, online jail records show. His first appearance before a judge scheduled for Friday morning was postponed until his Feb. 28 arraignment after the bailiff said Scott was acting up.
Court records show Scott has a history of mental health issues. He was Baker Acted at least twice, in 2016 and 2018. Last year he was arrested, accused of harassing customers at a restaurant.