KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Notes believed to be from the suspect who stabbed three truck stop employees to death Tuesday suggested he may not have been mentally well. A source close to the investigation showed WBIR pages of the notebook he said law enforcement recovered from Idris Abdus Salaam's truck.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Abdus-Salaam, 33, stabbed four women at the Pilot Travel Center off Interstate 40 on Strawberry Plains Pike just before 7 o'clock Tuesday morning. Knox County Sheriff's deputies shot and killed Abdus-Salaam shortly after arriving on scene.
TBI identified him as a truck driver from North Carolina. Agents could be seen examining a tractor-trailer truck parked near the Pilot Tuesday afternoon.
The notebook the source said was found in the truck contains graphic writing believed to be from Abdus-Salaam.
It suggested he may not be mentally well.
Because of the graphic nature of the writing and because law enforcement has not yet confirmed or denied the existence of this notebook, WBIR is not sharing the full text.
A public records search showed a number of speeding violations on Abdus-Salaam's record. In 2018, he faced a criminal charge in Wake County, North Carolina for eluding arrest/fleeing.
TBI said Abdus-Salaam had no criminal record in Tennessee.
Tuesday, a TBI spokesperson confirmed two witnesses attempted to subdue him during the attack.
TBI identified the three women killed, all employees of the Pilot Travel Center, as 57-year-old Joyce Whaley, 51-year-old Patricia Denise Nibbe, and 41-year-old Nettie R. Spencer.
The fourth woman stabbed, a customer at the convenience store, was released from the hospital Wednesday. TBI will not release her name.
Knoxville attorney Don Bosch represents the deputy who shot Abdus-Salaam to death. He said he could not comment while the investigation is pending.