Alleged assailant charged in Nicollet Mall stabbing; victim not expected to survive

A man accused of stabbing another man in the neck Monday night at a downtown Minneapolis bus shelter is now facing a felony charge.

Court documents show Joseph Eugene Davis, 58, is charged with one count of first-degree assault in connection with the attack.

A criminal complaint alleges Davis stabbed the victim in his right carotid artery in the course of a fight just before midnight near the intersection of Nicollet Mall and Fifth Street South.

Witness statements and surveillance footage indicate Davis attacked the victim while he was talking to someone else at the bus stop. The victim shoved Davis away, and Davis pursued the victim as he backed up. The victim was holding an object and took “a defensive posture” as Davis approached again, striking Davis with the object. As the victim tried to gather some items from the bus shelter, Davis allegedly cut him off and proceeded to swing at him. Video shows Davis leaving the area on a bus while the victim collapses to the ground.

Police later arrested Davis in the Uptown area. During an interview, Davis said he “never once came at” the victim and that he tried to “parry” with the knife when the victim tried to hit him a second time and that the man “essentially impaled himself.”

The criminal complaint states the victim is intubated and remains unresponsive to stimuli. He is not expected to survive.

Hennepin County Jail records show Davis was released from custody Thursday morning after 48 hours elapsed without any charges filed. A warrant is now out for his arrest.