CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — A Camden County police officer is recovering after he was stabbed in the neck in an unprovoked attack while on duty Sunday night, officials said. The suspect was quickly apprehended and charged with attempted murder.
The officer, identified as 23-year-old Joshua McKnight, was on patrol in South Camden shortly before 6 p.m. and stopped at Duran Grocery at Broadway and Chestnut Street for a business check.
“While out of his vehicle for 58 seconds speaking to an individual outside the store, a second unknown male approached him from behind and brutally stabbed him in the neck,” Camden County Police Chief Gabriel Rodriguez said at a news conference late Sunday night.
“The officer was by himself. He was directed to that location by one of his supervisors that was less than half a block away and heard some commotion on the radio after the officer was stabbed. So, he knew instinctively to just go back to that area to check if that officer was OK.”
McKnight was rushed to Cooper University Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition, Rodriguez said. He has been with the Camden County Police Department for the last two years.
“He still has a long way, a lot of challenges ahead,” Rodriguez added. “We just ask that everyone keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers as well as our officers that responded quickly in the aid of that officer that was injured.”
Rodriguez says McKnight is a dedicated officer.
"This is a job he’s wanted to do his entire life — his mother said that as soon as she got to the hospital. She couldn’t stop him from being a police officer. She couldn’t stop him from serving his country in the military. This is all he’s ever wanted to do."
Within minutes of the attack, police found the suspect a few blocks away at Seventh Street and Kaighns Avenue. The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office identified him as 38-year-old Richard Dennis, of Sicklerville. He is facing attempted murder, assault and weapons charges.