Crime & Safety

Woman Stabbed To Death While On Work Break In Downtown Detroit: Police

Officials believe the attack was random.

DETROIT — A woman was stabbed to death during her lunch break in downtown Detroit on Sunday afternoon, according to police.

The fatal stabbing happened at 2:30 p.m. in an alleyway on Woodward Avenue near E. Congress Street, according to police.

Police said 34-year-old Jaquoya Wixx was on a break from work at a Chipotle when a man approached her with a knife and stabbed her multiple times in the alleyway.

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Wixx ran to a nearby business where police said she collapsed. Medics took her to a nearby hospital where she died, according to police.

Police said the man ran away from the scene, but was arrested shortly later at Woodward Avenue and State Street.

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Officials did not release his name, but said he was suffering from mental health issues.

"From what we now know, this was an unprovoked attack by an individual suffering from severe mental health issues," Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said.

Sheffield said Wixx was a mother of a 15-year-old girl who attends school in Detroit.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Jaquoya and our city grieves with her family during this incredibly difficult time."

Family members set up a GoFundMe to pay for funeral expenses and to support Wix’s daughter.

"My sister had been working hard to get her life together and was trying so hard to get on the right path," Alicya Wix wrote on the page. "She did not get the chance to keep moving forward or to be there for her daughter the way she was working toward."

Sheffield urged anyone who is struggling with mental health issues to get help by calling the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network at 1-844-462-7474.

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