Police: Man targeted 70-year-old grocery shopper in random box cutter attack because he 'looked like he was from the 1960s'

A suspect has been arrested after stabbing a 70-year-old man in a random attack at a grocery store in Florida, according to police.

Punta Gorda police officers responded to a Publix grocery store on Saturday evening for reports of a stabbing. The suspect, 47-year-old Ramsey Lyons, is in custody.


The victim was reportedly shopping in an aisle when he was stabbed. He told officers that he suddenly felt as if someone had punched him on the left side of his face.

The victim said that he saw Lyons staring at him with a box cutter blade in his hand. The victim said that he removed his hands from his face and saw blood, and he said that Lyons had stabbed him.

Punta Gorda police officers arrived shortly after and found Lyons standing near the store entrance with his hands on his head. Officers detained him at the scene.

According to an arrest report, Lyons told an officer that he had an undiagnosed mental illness and had a dislike for the  1960s era.  When asked why he had the box cutter, Lyons reportedly admitted he entered the store intending to kill someone. He said he chose the victim because he  looked like he was from the 1960s  and that he felt like murdering him.

 Who would think that when you're just doing some regular grocery shopping, going about your business, that a stranger would come up and just attack like that? It's very scary,  said Kim Black, who works in a business in front of the Publix store.

Lyons described the attack, saying,  I just pulled it out of my pocket and stuck it in his neck,  according to an arrest report. Police said he confirmed that he intended to kill the victim and admitted to throwing the weapon down the aisle after the stabbing to avoid alarming the police.

 It's very scary that someone can run around like that with a knife and just randomly pick a stranger that they don't even know and inflict that kind of harm on him,  said Black.

The victim was treated at a local hospital for a laceration that extended fro
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