Update 10:35PM — This story has been updated with new details provided by CPD subsequent to our original report.
A complete stranger stabbed another man in the throat after the victim refused to give him money Sunday afternoon on the Magnificent Mile, police said. Police arrested a suspect nearby.
The victim, age 52, was walking in the 700 block of North Michigan when a panhandler approached him and demanded his property around 4:45 p.m., according to Officer Anthony Spicuzza and a CPD statement.
When the victim refused to cooperate, the offender demanded some change, according to police. Again, the victim declined.
At that point, the offender presented a “sharp object” and threatened to hurt the victim if he did not comply, according to police. He then allegedly stabbed the victim in his neck when the victim tried to walk away.
Witnesses flagged down a passing patrol car outside Walgreens, 757 North Michigan, and gave officers a description of the attacker. The officers broadcast the description to other units and then applied a pressure bandage and QuikClot to the victim’s wound to reduce blood loss.
Other CPD units arrested the attacker near Rush and Superior. Charges are pending.
An ambulance crew transported the victim to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was taken into surgery in serious condition, police said.
