DETROIT (WXYZ) — On Friday, 25-year-old Tierra was on her way to work on Detroit's west side. It was around 8 a.m. when Tierra was waiting for her bus on Warren Avenue near Southfield Freeway. Then out of the blue, she was stabbed.
"Completely unprovoked. He didn't try to rob me, he didn't ask for my purse — I had a big purse — he asked for anything," Tierra said.
The security footage shows the suspect watching Tierra from across the street. A couple of minutes later, he crossed over to her side of the road, walked toward her and stabbed Tierra in the arm before running away.
"It was traumatizing, for real. It was unexpected. I was in shock. I was scared because I thought I was going to die because I was losing so much blood," Tierra said.
Tierra's fears only grew as she waited for first responders.
"It took the police about 25 minutes to arrive, and 10 to 15 minutes later, EMS arrived," Tierra said.
A nearby business confirmed the same response time. Tierra says two people came to her rescue: a lady who followed the suspect and eventually helped police apprehend the suspect, and activist Oliver Gantt's associate Dwight from Icon 10, who says he had to use his connections to get police on the scene.
"It's shocking that it takes that long, which begs the question, what is a priority call? If it wasn't for Dwight and other individuals — no telling what would happen to that young lady," said Gantt, Founder, Thousand Strong.
According to a recent Detroit police report, in 2022, the average response time for priority 1 runs was 13 minutes and 25 seconds, while for priority 2, it was 38 minutes and 52 seconds.
"It's alarming. That could have been anybody, it could have been me, you," Gantt said.
Meanwhile, a few days after the incident, Tierra's arm still hurts, but she is glad it's healing.
"I'm trying to keep my mind busy by doing other things because I keep thinking about that day, every day, to be honest," Tierra said.
The Detroit Fire Department has yet to comment. Detroit police say they are looking into the matter and will provide an update soon. In the meantime, the case is being reviewed by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
