Man allegedly threatens couple with a knife outside Whatcom 7-Eleven on Christmas morning
A man is suspected of threatening a couple with a large kitchen knife at the Ferndale 7-Eleven on Christmas morning and then using that knife to scratch their car.
Ferndale Police booked Evan Riley Delaney, 24, into Whatcom County Jail Saturday, Dec. 25, on suspicion of attempted second-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief. Jail records show Delaney is being held in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Officers were called at approximately 9:19 a.m. Dec. 25 to the 2000 block of Main Street for the report of a man swinging a knife at people and cars, Whatcom County Superior Court documents state.
When police arrived, they spoke to a married couple, who reported that Delaney began yelling at the female victim and using profanity inside the 7-Eleven, court documents state.
The victims told police that the female victim left the store, but Delaney followed and continued to harass both victims outside. Delaney then pulled a large kitchen knife and started to approach the victims, documents state. The male victim reported that he tried to move away from Delaney, but that Delaney stabbed at him.
Delaney then used the knife to make several scratches on the victims’ car, including on the driver’s side and the hood, documents state. No physical injuries were reported in the court documents.
Officers reviewed the store’s security footage, according to documents, and it confirmed the victims’ accounts of the incident.
Police contacted Delaney regarding a separate assault a few hours later, documents state, and noted that he was wearing clothing similar to what the victims in the 7-Eleven incident had described. Delaney also reportedly lived within a couple hundred yards from where officers tracked footsteps made by Delaney as he left the 7-Eleven earlier in the day.
While speaking with police, Delaney made unsolicited comments that he had been attacked earlier in the day at the 7-Eleven by two men and that he had acted in self-defense with the knife.
