Police were investigating possible motives as to why a Michigan employee allegedly stabbed his company president during a staff meeting Tuesday, WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids reported.
Later in the week, it was still unclear why Nathan Mahoney, 32, reportedly stabbed the president of Anderson Express, a manufacturing company in Muskegon, Michigan.
The Fruitport Township Police Department suggested one dark possibility in particular, however:
Mahoney may have been inspired by the recent murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City.
“We haven’t ruled out copycat motive in regards to this,” Deputy Chief Greg Poulson told WOOD-TV. “I think that comes to everyone’s mind in this time. We’re going through all his social accounts, all his electronic media and trying to determine a motive for this act.”
“It seems to be the popular thing in this day and age,” Poulson added.
Questions remain as to why an employee stabbed his company president during a staff meeting at a Muskegon-area manufacturer Tuesday morning.https://t.co/w3hMgn1N27
— WOOD TV8 (@WOODTV) December 18, 2024
The morning of the incident, several staff members had been gathered for a meeting, Mahoney among them.
At some point, Mahoney left, returned 10 minutes later and stabbed the president in the side.
He then fled the scene in his vehicle, but police stopped him 15 minutes later and arrested him, according to MLive, a Michigan news outlet.
He was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of assault with intent to murder, according to WOOD-TV.
The Fruitport Township Police Department posted a statement on Facebook about the incident.
“Fellow employees described the suspect as having a quiet demeanor and a motive for the stabbing has not been established at this time,” Fruitport Township police said in the statement. “The victim is currently out of surgery and remains in serious but stable condition.”
Mahoney had only worked for the company for two weeks, and “was being trained to replace a retiring employee at a high position in the company” according to WOOD-TV.
“We remain in shock over the incident that happened at our plant yesterday,” a spokesman for Anderson Express told MLive.
“Our first thought is with our president, who has a good prognosis for a full and speedy recovery. We are also focused on supporting our employees as they process this senseless assault.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
