KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Saturday, the Knoxville Police Department responded to a man who was stabbed in the neck in Krutch Park near Market Square. KPD said it still has not identified a suspect.
A man was shot in the same park in December 2023. KPD has identified some persons of interest but has yet to identify who was responsible.
"Despite extensive investigation, no suspects have been arrested or charged in connection to that shooting," said Scott Erland in an email, the KPD Communications Manager. "The victim from the shooting has since been released from the hospital. He was uncertain if he wanted to pursue prosecution."
WBIR talked to several business owners in Market Square, many of whom did not know the stabbing had occurred steps from their businesses. They did not wish to speak on camera but said the incident was disturbing and worrisome.
Overall, since 2022, crime has shown a downward trend in a report from the KPD Crime Analysis Unit.
"There were 540 reported incidents in the downtown area between January 1-June 2 in 2022," Erland said in an email. "That includes all incident report types from shoplifting all the way up to death investigations. That number dropped to 421 over the same time period in 2023 and 413 in 2024."
Most crimes reported were included property theft, including car theft and car burglaries.
"Year-to-date compared to 2023, motor vehicles thefts are down from 13 to 3, car burglary reports are down from 24 to 14," Erland said. "All assault reports are down three total incidents, drug violations are down from 26 to 20, and robberies are down from 5 to 1."