One dead, two hospitalized — all near 90 years old — in east Columbus attack

One elderly east Columbus resident fatally was stabbed and two others injured in bizarre assaults Monday morning in the Wickham Heights neighborhood.

Authorities identified the deceased Monday evening as John Dawson.

Witnesses on Victoria Drive south of Steam Mill Road said the suspect was a visibly upset man in his 40s who first assaulted an elderly couple in their home around mid-morning Monday before he walked out into the street and disrobed as he paced back and forth.

It was there in the 400 block of Victoria Drive that a neighbor came out to confront the suspect, who attacked him, too, witnesses said.

Police called at 10:40 a.m. to reports of a naked man in the street said one victim had died and two were in the hospital. The deceased was a man in his 90s who was stabbed inside the house, and his wife and their neighbor from across the street were hospitalized, authorities said.

A woman who was having coffee with a friend who lives in the neighborhood said they heard a commotion, and she looked outside to see two men fighting in the street. One was elderly and the other younger and fit, and the older man appeared to have been badly battered, she said.

Both the two who were injured and the suspect were taken to Piedmont Regional Midtown campus for treatment, police said. The suspect reportedly has a mental illness.

Investigators Monday morning had found no evidence of previous conflicts between the victims and the suspect, who also was living in Wickham Heights.

Authorities Monday afternoon had not identified the suspect.

This story was originally published September 24, 2018 at 12:46 PM.