GARDNER, MASS. (WHDH) - A man faced a judge virtually from his hospital bed Tuesday as prosecutors alleged that he stabbed a nurse with a pocket knife while in an emergency room in Gardner.
The nurse is recovering after the attack on Monday night.
David Nichols, 76, had a not guilty plea entered for him, in the meantime.
The Gardner Police Department said its officers were called to the Henry Heywood Memorial Hospital around 8 p.m. Monday, responding to a reported assault.
Officials said arriving officers went on to arrest Nichols of Greenville, New Hampshire, at the scene. The nurse was taken to UMass Memorial in Worcester to be treated.
According to a news release from Gardner police, Nichols was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
In court proceedings on Tuesday, prosecutors said Nichols allegedly stabbed his nurse in the neck, narrowly missing her carotid artery.
“The defendant grabbed her by her neck with his left arm, reached downwards and she felt the laceration to her neck,” said prosecutor Mark Dupuis. “She immediately screamed for help.”
Dupuis said the laceration was approximately three inches long, “along her carotid artery.”
Prosecutors requested a high bail for Nichols, citing a six-page criminal history dating back decades.
Nichols’ attorney, though, pitched a different story to the judge, describing a man suffering from psychiatric and physical issues who is currently in hospice with six months to live.
“This is not assigning the seriousness of the offense,” said Nichols’ attorney Brian Demott. “This is about Mr. Nichols answering to these charges. There is nothing in the record to indicate he will not show up to court.”
The Hubbardston Fire Department shared its support for the nurse and hospital colleagues in a social media post Tuesday morning, writing “Our thoughts are with our brothers and sisters who work in the Heywood Hospital ER.”
“We hope for a speedy recovery for the nurse,” the fire department said. “Violence against caregivers is a widespread problem and should not be tolerated.”
Others also shared their reaction, discussing how the assault has shed light on the topic of safety for health care workers.
“Nurses and health care workers should not have to go into their workplace not knowing whether or not they’ll return to their family at the end of their shift,” said Karen Coughlin of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
Nichols was being held as of Tuesday night on $100,000 cash bail. He is due back in court next month.
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