UPDATE: The West Palm Beach police department says 22-year-old D'Antoine Roselle Jackson has been arrested in connection with the attempted murder and attempted robbery of a woman on Sunday, April 8, 2018 in West Palm Beach.
Police say Jackson was identified through physical evidence, which includes DNA collected from the victim's backpack.
Jackson was currently incarcerated in St. Lucie County on unrelated charges. He will be extradited to the Palm Beach County Jail where he will face attempted murder and robbery charges.
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ORIGINAL STORY:
Police have released a photo of a possible person of interest after a woman was hospitalized after being stabbed Sunday morning in West Palm Beach.
Police say the woman was riding a bicycle along Flagler Drive and Okeechobee Boulevard, under the bridge, at about 11 a.m. when a man pushed her off the bicycle and stabbed her.
The suspect fled on foot and is still at large.
. @WestPalmPD asking folks if they may recognize this person. Calling him a possible person of interest connected to yesterday’s stabbing investigation near the Flagler bridge @WPTVpic.twitter.com/RduuQJsndP
— Alyssa Hyman (@AlyssaHymanWPTV) April 9, 2018
The victim was was last listed in stable condition.
"The detectives have been interviewing her at the hospital so we have been able to communicate with her, thankfully," said West Palm Beach Police Public Information Officer Davide Lefont.
In the photo that police released you could not make out the person's facial features.
"The photo that we’re sending out is a person of interest that we believe was involved in this case. Once that person is identified we will definitely let you know," Lefont said.
Police now believe the attack started as a robbery attempt.
Officers and divers returned to the scene of the attack Monday. Police would not say what they were searching for.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to call West Palm Beach police at 561-822-1900 or Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at 800-458-TIPS.
Linda Somers first caught WPTV's attention on Engage West Palm’s Facebook page.
She wrote, “I worry now about sitting around and just eating outside on Clematis, which I do at least three times a week."
WPTV tracked her down and met up with her in downtown West Palm where she’s lived for almost 20 years.
"I noticed a difference. Maybe crime hasn’t been as much but the violent crime activity has escalated. That bothers me and makes me very concerned," she said.
Brianne Farrell and Nicole Combs live in West Palm Beach and share her concerns. They walk this stretch of Flager at least four times a week.
“This morning after I saw the article, I did go buy some pepper spray for the two of us on amazon," Brianne Farrell said.
Brianne and Nicole increased their diligence but also say the city and police should take this seriously.
"I don’t know if the problem is necessarily just localized and it happens to be just the past couple weeks but I think it’s important for them to realize that its obviously a problem and they need to look into what’s going on, if it’s a trend and if it’s going to continue and now to prevent it in the future," Brianne said.
Paul and Keitt Takkunen visit West Palm at least twice a week and say city leadership should look into it, but the best reaction is a reasonable one.
“We can’t be naïve, we need to be diligent, we shouldn’t overreact," Paul said.
