Man Who Allegedly Stabbed Publix Employee Said Boss Called Him Crazy, Police Report Says

SARASOTA, FL – A 29-year-old suspect from his hospital bed told police that his manager at a nearby Walmart had called him "crazy" which made him "upset and angry" prior to the seemingly random stabbing Thursday of a Publix supermarket employee in Sarasota, according to reports.

Corey D. Scogin, of Sarasota, on Thursday was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after allegedly stabbing in the back of the neck a 57-year-old female clerk who was stocking shelves at the store on the 3600 block of Bee Ridge Road -- an attack the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office described as "random."

The department said it did not appear that Scogin and the victim knew one another.

Shortly after 10 a.m., Scogin purportedly entered the market after a walk from his home, pulled from his pocket a Buck knife and stabbed the woman, who had her back to him on aisle number five, police filings state. Witnesses reported he then stabbed himself before fleeing the scene.

According to the law enforcement report, the suspect "poked" himself in the collarbone area, stabbed himself in the torso and cut his left wrist as he broke free of individuals attempting to subdue him and exited the market through an emergency door.

Scogin was apprehended shortly after the incident by officers on the 4000 block of Beneva Road at the nearby Beneva Ridge Apartments, deputies said. A K-9 unit located the knife used during the incident at a nearby tennis court, the agency said.

Both Scogin and the victim were transported for treatment to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. The woman was released Thursday afternoon, according to deputies.

Interviewed Thursday in his hospital room, Scogin was asked "what was going through his head" before entering Publix and told detectives that on Wednesday his manager called him "crazy" and that made him "upset and angry," reports state.

Scogin is employed at Walmart Neighborhood Market on the 3500 block of Bee Ridge Road, according to the filing.

Scogin also reportedly stated to authorities that he had a failed suicide attempt in the past and did not use any illegal drugs or alcohol the day of the attack, deputies said.

Calls to law enforcement from the Bee Ridge Road store were first dispatched at approximately 10:13 a.m. as stemming from a possible shoplifting incident, but the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office later updated the report as a "random" stabbing.

"Despite the initial 911 call for service indicating that the suspect had 'shoplifted,' no theft actually occurred or was in progress. This incident was strictly a stabbing," the agency said. "The incident does appear to be random."

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--Images via SCSO