A man was stabbed in a first-floor restroom at the 801 East Men’s Shelter in the early morning hours of Feb. 12, according to separate reports from two shelter residents.
As a result of the attack, Catholic Charities D.C., the nonprofit contracted to run all city-funded low-barrier shelters in the District, immediately replaced the security company at this site and all other locations where that company was in use.
“The security firm for this facility, as well as others across the city, at the time of the incident, was a direct contractor of [The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness] and has been immediately removed and replaced,” according to a statement provided by Catholic Charities.
The new company, Prince Security, started work on Feb. 14.
According to Catholic Charities D.C., the incident is under investigation with support from the Metropolitan Police Department. However, MPD closed the case following an arrest on the night of the incident. The assailant was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and his pocket knife was confiscated.
The police report says the assailant and the victim got into an argument while in the shelter restroom over a previous assault. When the victim was stabbed, he ran out to a common room and eventually out of the building, where he collapsed until medical personnel arrived. Protective Services Division officers chased and detained the assailant until MPD arrived.
A watch commander from the Protective Services Division, special police under the D.C. Department of General Services who protect all District government buildings, could not comment on this incident. The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness referred inquiries to the D.C. Department of Human Services. DHS did not respond to any requests for comment.
