TAUNTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A woman accused of repeatedly stabbing a Taunton hospital employee in an “unprovoked” attack has been ordered held without bail.
Victoria Disharoon, 28, of Taunton, was arraigned in Taunton District Court on charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. A judge also ordered her to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Officers responding to a reported stabbing at Morton Hospital around 1:40 p.m. spoke to the 44-year-old victim who said she was outside on a break on the North Pleasant Street side of the hospital when a woman walked up behind her, pulled her ponytail, and punched her several times in the back, police said.
After she was able to get away and report the alleged assault to a fellow employee, it was discovered that she had suffered multiple puncture wounds on her shoulders and neck from the attack, police added.
She has since been treated and released from the hospital.
The victim told police that she did not know Disharoon and that the assault appeared “completely random and unprovoked.” She was able to take a photo of Disharoon as she fled the scene on foot.
Police released the photo of Disharoon on Wednesday, which led to multiple tips from the public and from an outside police agency.
7NEWS has learned that the victim just started working at the hospital as a secretary two weeks ago.
“It was just a freak accident,” hospital worker Mike Fraga said. “I’ve never heard of anything like that happening around here…It’s scary.”
Jacqueline Fitts, Chair of the Morton Hospital Nurses Union, says safety around the facility has been a major concern for the last year.
“We have been asking administration for a year now to make the property safer, to cover the parking lot with security because there is a lot of people passing in and out of the area,” Fitts said. “Our nurses and other staff go outside for breaks.”
Fitts noted that the hospital has seen a spike in psychiatric patients and violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A hospital spokesperson released a statement that read, “Morton Hospital has proactively invested significant resources in a number of visible and unseen safety and security enhancements including updated LED lighting, increased security patrols and escorts (upon request) and security camera surveillance in multiple locations within and outside the facility including parking lots, entrances, etc. As stated previously, this unfortunate and isolated incident occurred at an adjacent property. Patient and employee safety remains our top priority.”
Disharoon will called back to court at a later date.
An investigation remains ongoing.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)