SPOKANE, Wash. — A place where many have found safety and warmth was the scene of chaos Wednesday morning.
Police responded to a call at Westminster Congregational Church's warming shelter just before 7 a.m. A woman staying the night reportedly stabbed a staffer of the Guardians Foundation, who was working in the warming shelter.
The Guardians Foundation is an organization that helps veterans, and in this case, puts them to work. The man who was stabbed is a veteran.
The shelters require a minimum of two staff members at each location. There also must be at least one staff member for every 20 guests.
Up until this point, Executive Director of the Guardians Foundation Michael Shaw said there haven’t been too many issues.
“We’ve had no incidents and that, quite frankly, is an astonishing thing for a warming center that’s served over 8,500 individuals that walk through the doors,” Shaw said.
Many of those 8,500 individuals are returning visitors. Shaw also said that the majority of the people using the facilities just want a safe place to stay.
Shaw said they are staying vigilant as they continue to work with the city, police and host facilities to make sure what happened Wednesday morning doesn’t happen again.
“Concern would be an understatement. We are always concerned about safety - safety for the individuals that are using the facility and safety for my staff.”