Nurse Aids Homeless Man Stabbed in Neck at N.C. Library

March 18--A dispute between two homeless men led to one of them being stabbed in the neck Tuesday afternoon at the Headquarters Library in downtown Fayetteville.

Library Director Jody Risacher said she doesn't want patrons to be discouraged from using the library because of the "rare occurrence."

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office responded to the call just before 1 p.m.

The victim, Timothy Rivers, had a collapsed lung, said Maj. Lynette Hodges. He was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and is doing OK, she said.

The Sheriff's Office charged another homeless man, Dantrell Steven Johnson, in the stabbing.

Risacher said the two men began arguing inside the library then one chased the other outside.

She said one patron was a nurse who helped Rivers before EMS arrived.

"This was a serious and disturbing incident," Risacher said, "But this is a rare occurrence."

Risacher said the library usually only has to intervene with verbal disagreements, which are against the rules.

"If that happens, we ask them to follow the rules and speak quietly," she said. "If the rules are not followed, they're asked to leave."

The library also employs security guards who patrol both inside and outside the building.

Risacher said it's common for urban libraries to be visited by homeless people.

"I know that some of our visitors are homeless, but how can you really tell?" she said. "We do our best to serve everyone equally as long as the rules are followed, which most of the time, they are."

The Sheriff's Office charged Johnson with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury.

Bail was set at $200,000.

Staff writer Nichole Manna can be reached at mannan@fayobserver.com or 486-3596.

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