Weeks later with no arrests, Uptown stabbing leaves residents feeling uneasy

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - A Minneapolis woman survived a gruesome knife attack in the Uptown neighborhood, and there are still no arrests in the case.

Now, people living in the area are on high alert as police chase down leads.
Women, especially, have said they feel like targets.

Since the Dec. 13 attack, the victim, Morgan Evenson, has moved from Minnesota to a new home in Nashville.

“I would say about two to three minutes I was struggling with him on the ground, and he was dragging me through the snow and hurting me,” she said. “This person who did this to me for no reason is still out there; I don’t know if he’s looking to do this to someone else or if it was a one-time thing.”

Evenson said she was walking home from work and was tackled from behind near 31st and Fremont Avenue South. She said her body went numb as the suspect repeatedly stabbed her.

“Was it because I’m a woman, was it because of the color of my skin, was it what I was wearing, was it the purse on my shoulder even though you didn’t take anything from me?”

Weeks later, the boldness of the attack still has people in the area on edge.

"It is very scary. I don't feel very safe," Volanda Petkova said.

A woman walking her dog right next to the area where Evenson was stabbed did not even want to appear on camera for safety concerns.

"I try not to walk by myself, and when I do I have my dog with me and we all try to walk in groups," she said.

Although Evenson is no longer living in the Uptown neighborhood, she's scared for her friends and family still here and hopes police catch him before he strikes again.

“I don’t want this to change who I am because I don’t want to be a scared person, but it would be so amazing to have this person turned in and to look him in the face and convict him of something,” she said.

Evenson said she got a very clear look at the suspect as she struggled with him for a few minutes. She describes him as a thin, Somali man in his early twenties with a slight accent and short, afro-style hair.

Minneapolis police are increasing their patrols in the area and are awaiting results from forensic testing.