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Woman injured after man attacks co-worker with knife

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Posted at 10:31 AM, Mar 15, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-15 12:39:00-04

OGDEN, Utah — A man was arrested Friday after police say he attacked a co-worker with a knife in Ogden, and severely injured a woman who intervened.

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Documents show Kay Karnes, 21, was charged with Murder and Aggravated Assault. Police say that while no one was killed during the incident, Murder and Attempted Murder charges are coded the same in probable cause documents.

When Ogden Police arrived at Leggett & Platt, they found a woman bleeding from her hand. Witnesses said the incident began when Karnes and another employee got into an argument while working.

Karnes allegedly grabbed a steak knife and tackled the other employee and attempted to stab him "multiple times."

A fellow employee told police she feared for the life of the first victim and grabbed Karnes' hand in an attempt to stop him. While being held, Karnes pulled back his hand, causing the knife to cut three fingers on the woman's hand.

READ: UTA officer assaulted while trying to break up fight in SLC

Karnes fled the scene after hiding the knife among his belongings.

The woman was told to go to the emergency room where she required 17 stitches to treat the deep lacerations that cut ligaments in her hand. An emergency room doctor told the woman she will need to see a hand specialist and may lose full function of the hand permanently.

Karnes was later found in Clearfield and taken into custody.

The employee who Karnes attempted to stab told police he feared for his life and "was deeply thankful" the woman intervened because without her help he believed he would have died.