DAVENPORT, Fla. — A man was arrested for stabbing a store clerk nine times in an early morning attack at a RaceTrac gas station, Davenport police report.
Police say the unprovoked attack happened around 4:40 a.m. at the RaceTrac store on Highway 27.
According to investigators, 29-year-old Marc Tucker walked into the store, visited the restroom and began browsing various items. The clerk, a 28-year-old woman who does not know Tucker, asked if she could assist him, but he declined.
As the clerk was preparing to stock the shelves, Tucker approached her from behind and began repeatedly stabbing her in the back and side, according to the police report.
Investigators say she ran away but slipped and fell to the floor, allowing Tucker to stab her several more times in the chest. After she got away again, Tucker left the store and ran into a nearby wooded area.
Other clerks were at the store at the time of the attack but did not see it happen. Police say the other workers ran to help the clerk after they heard her scream and saw Tucker run from the store.
The clerk is being treated at a local hospital for nine stab wounds. She is expected to survive.
Tucker was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder.
“This was simply an unprovoked, random attack for no apparent reason other than the suspect, Marc Tucker, committing an evil act. The fact that the store clerk resisted and fought her attacker certainly facilitated her survival," Police Chief Steve Parker said in a statement. "We are praying for a quick recovery of the store clerk, and will do all we can to ensure Mr. Tucker is held accountable for his senseless actions.”
According to police, Tucker has a criminal history dating back to 2013 which includes domestic violence battery, assault, theft and resisting an officer. He was released from the Florida State Prison system in January 2023 after serving less than a year of a 20-month sentence.