Two WIBW staffers were stabbed this morning when a disgruntled man wielding a knife broke into the station’s Topeka headquarters.
The man, who police have identified as Ray Miles, arrived in the station’s front lobby at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday and asked for access to the station. According to WIBW’s account of the incident, he was upset by the way the department of Veterans Affairs was handling his case.
The receptionist, Lynda Janes, put Miles on the phone with news director Jon Janes, who told him by phone that the issue needed to be discussed with the VA and that WIBW could not do anything to help him. Janes later recalled a previous conversation with Miles, on March 22, when he visited the station about the same issue.
Miles left the building, only to return 10 minutes later in an “agitated” state. Lynda Janes called the police after Miles unplugged a lamp and used it to smash the front doors of the station, which are made of glass. He then chased the receptionist and another employee into the newsroom.
Several employees in the newsroom tackled the man near the east side of the building. Miles pulled out a knife and stabbed two men, sales manager Roger Brokke and sales associate Greg Palmer, both in the leg. Miles also bit Brokke on the ear.
Eight employees held him down until the police arrived. Miles was heard shouting, “I’m going to f-cking kill you all!”
Brokke and Palmer are being treated for minor injuries, and Brokke was told he needs to get a tetanus shot.
Watch video of the newsroom in the aftermath of the attack here (WIBW’s video player does not allow embedding).