Campus Machete Attack In Arkansas Leaves 2 Victims, Suspect Injured

On Thursday night at around 7:15 p.m. on the University of Arkansas campus, it was reported that a man with a machete attacked two individuals in a wooded location near the campus. What’s particularly surprising is that this is one of many machete attacks that has occurred this year.

In July, a 17-year-old boy in Ottawa was stabbed with a machete during a Canada Day celebration in Winnipeg. In the article, David Larkins of the Ottawa Sun explains that the machete attack was one of two machete-related incidents that occurred that day.

Earlier in June, a woman was slashed with a giant machete in Bryant Park in New York. According to CBC News, the woman suffered, “a substantial gash to her right arm and was rushed to a nearby hospital,” and the man who was responsible for the attack apparently did not appear provoked before slashing her arm.

And finally, just on Thursday, the suspect for a machete attack that occurred in Miami last June, was arrested, as indicated by Fox2Now.

The man who was reportedly responsible for the attack of the two individuals on the Arkansas campus was also hurt during the machete incident. He supposedly had a campsite set up in the area, and the two victims confronted him, explaining that he could not remain camped out in that spot. In a frenzy, the suspect allegedly began swinging his machete around and hit the two victims in the neck. During this attack process, his eye was injured, and he was taken to the hospital. He was arrested shortly after the machete incident occurred. Ashley Kyle Pettey, 36, is the name of the man allegedly responsible for the attack.

Unfortunately, last year there was a homicide which occurred in same location of that campus. A man was found dead in the wooded area near the campus and an autopsy determined that “the cause of death to be homicide by blunt force trauma.” It seems as though the attackers in Arkansas have a particular attachment to the use of melee or machete-like weapons. Furthermore, officials have attempted to alert citizens of the dangerous attacks in that area.

Captain Gary Crain told the reporters at 5NewsOnline after the homicide that occurred last year, “That area is not part of any trail system, is not part of any area where people are encouraged to go hiking, as a matter of fact there’s been efforts over the year to stop people from going there.”

The effort to clear the campus of homeless camps has been ongoing, but the issue is that if they move from that area, they will just go to another area and set up camp in a new location instead. The lessons learned here is that people should avoid the wooded place near the University of Arkansas campus to avoid any potential trouble.

[Image by Washington County Sheriff’s Office]