Inset: Robert J. Rhoades (Tulsa Police Dept.). Background: Rhoades being arrested after allegedly slicing a woman’s throat (TPD).
A 42-year-old man in Oklahoma has been apprehended after allegedly slashing a woman’s throat on a Tulsa city bus in what authorities are calling an unprovoked assault.
Robert J. Rhoades was detained over the weekend and faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and false impersonation, as announced by officials.
According to a news release from the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded around 1:09 p.m. on Sunday to a stabbing incident at a bus station located on the 300 block of S. Cheyenne Avenue.
Police reported that officers in the vicinity were informed by witnesses of an adult male suspect leaving the scene on foot and “provided a direction of travel.” Bicycle patrol officers in the area immediately began the search for the suspect — later identified as Rhoades — and found him shortly thereafter at 100 S. Denver Avenue, where he was arrested without incident.
Police said there was “visible blood” on Rhoades’ clothing and that a “bloody knife” was recovered from his pocket during a search of his person.
The victim was rushed to a local hospital. Her injuries were so severe that detectives from the department’s Homicide Unit were called to the scene.
“Witnesses, including the bus driver, told us that both Rhoades and the 43-year-old female victim got on the bus at the Walmart stop on 81st and Lewis,” police detailed in the release. “Rhoades sat directly behind her, and they had no previous interactions or verbal exchanges. As the bus reached the main station, Rhoades allegedly attacked the victim by slicing her throat before fleeing the scene.”
The victim underwent emergency surgery for her injuries. The medical team informed authorities that she was stabilized and that they were “hopeful” for her full recovery.
Investigators said they are also waiting for security footage from a camera that was located inside the bus.
In addition to the charges, Rhoades is also being held on a fugitive from justice warrant out of Missouri, police said.
He is in custody at the Tulsa County Jail without bond, records show.
It was not immediately clear when Rhoades was scheduled to make his first appearance in court.
