MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man is now behind bars after reportedly admitting to police he stabbed a woman at a MATA bus stop because he “doesn’t like gay people.”
The incident was reported in late February.
The woman told police it all started when the suspect, Gaylord McDowell, walked up to her in “attack mode” as she was waiting for the bus at Knight Arnold and Ridgeway Boulevard. When she told him to stop a fight ensued.
That’s when McDowell allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the breast. The bus driver saw that the victim was injured and called police, but by the time they arrived the suspect was gone.
Both individuals told officers they had seen the suspect before. The bus driver even stated he has had several issues with the man in the past.
The victim was taken to the hospital where she received 10 stitches.
Police finally caught a break in the case when the suspect was spotted by the same MATA bus driver on Thursday.
When they arrested him, McDowell was heard saying “I already know what the police got me for, for that girl.”
Officers said the two individuals didn’t know each other, but McDowell believed the victim to be gay and stated that “he does not like gay people.”
He was charged with attempted second-degree murder.