JUNIAU, Alaska — A cruise ship employee from South Africa was arrested Tuesday in Alaska’s capital, accused of attacking a woman and two guards with scissors aboard the ship, authorities said.
The U.S. attorney’s office says the man is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon within maritime and territorial jurisdiction. Online court records show there is no attorney for the 35-year-old man.
According to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Matthew Judy, the man was recently hired by a cruise line and boarded the ship, Norwegian Encore, in Seattle on Sunday. The ship departed that day on a weeklong voyage with scheduled stops in ports in Alaska, including the capital, Juneau, and British Columbia.
The alleged incident occurred west of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, while the ship was sailing to Alaska. According to the affidavit, during late evening Sunday, ship personnel saw the man attempting to deploy a rescue boat and security took him to a medical center for evaluation.
While there, “he became irrational and attempted to leave,” and “physically assaulted a security guard and a nurse,” the affidavit said. He ran into another room, where he grabbed a pair of scissors and stabbed a woman who was being investigated, as well as two guards who tried to intervene before being subdued and held in an “onboard jail,” the affidavit says. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
The ship arrived in Juneau on Tuesday, when he was arrested by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
