From Staff Reports

An Asheville woman jogging in West Asheville Carrier Park was stabbed in the stomach and robbed before the suspect fled the scene on Dec. 17 — and in response “the Asheville Police Department is sending out an urgent safety alert,” Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported on Dec. 19.

APD Captain Joe Silberman told News 13 that a woman and her daughter were out for a jog in the park around 6 p.m. Dec. 17, when they encountered a man who attacked the mother.

“The daughter, safe but shaken, was able to call 911 and Silberman said police arrived quickly,” News 13 noted.

Silberman described the woman as suffering from a “very bad stab wound,” — and said she is now stable, but remains in critical condition at Mission Hospital.

“This is another awful tragedy connected to Hurricane Helene,” Silberman told the TV station.

“Silberman said the incident connects to Helene, which devastated the region on Sept 27, because the area around Carrier Park is now one of the many flood-affected areas with several ‘serious safety issues.’

“He said that places like Carrier Park, River Arts District and a number of areas along Swannanoa River Road are not back to how they were prior to the storm and are not safe places to be, especially at night, which he said is because of the lack of lighting and witnesses.”