Homeless Man Accused Of Knife Threat At Concord Shelter

CONCORD, NH — A homeless man, who has been arrested twice in the past few months after incidents at the Homeless Outreach Center on North Main Street, was arraigned this week on felony weapon charges.

In the first incident, in late December 2021, an officer following up on an unrelated manner saw a man run out of the building with another man chasing him, claiming he had just threatened a staffer with a knife. Backup was requested and the officer caught up to the man — David Allen Higgins, 30, a homeless man now located in Concord, to question him. Higgins, the officer wrote in an affidavit, said he was still in possession of the knife in his belt and it was seized.

During questioning about the incident, Higgins said a staff member threatened to “beat him up,” he got scared, and started to leave the building, the report said. The staffer followed and charged him, so he pulled the knife to defend himself, the affidavit said. Higgins said he sheathed the knife and then, left — but he did not want to write a statement about the incident, the officer said.

The officer, however, wondered about the story, immediately noticing that in order to get the knife in and out of Higgins’ belt, his whole belt had to be removed. He also accused him of smelling like alcohol, “struggling to balance,” and having bloodshot eyes. Higgins was then taken into protective custody.

The officer then spoke to staffers. One accused Higgins of screaming at a woman who worked at the shelter, calling her derogatory sexual terms. He then accused him of yelling at a guest. After that, the employee told Higgins he was not welcome to stay. Higgins, the affidavit said, headed to leave but, instead, began walking back and forth. After being told repeatedly to leave, he finally did, with the employee following him, to ensure he would exit, the report said. The staffer accused Higgins of then pulling the knife on him.

“I’m going to f------ stab you,” Higgins was accused of saying to the employee.

The officer eyed security video and “observed David becoming hostile” and yelling at the woman, the report said. There was no video footage of the area where the knife was reportedly flashed.

The officer also spoke to the woman who said she was checking people in when Higgins walked in and, while not following instructions during the check-in process, “started to yell at her,” the affidavit said. She also witnessed Higgins yelling at the man and pulling out the knife, threatening the other employee, the affidavit stated.

An affidavit was requested for Higgins’ arrest on Jan. 8. It was filed on Jan. 11 and he was arrested later that day on criminal threatening-deadly weapon and reckless conduct-deadly weapon charges, both felonies, as well as a disorderly conduct charge.

Higgins failed to appear at the arraignment of the charges on Feb. 3 in Merrimack County Superior Court but was arraigned on March 3.

Higgins was arrested again on March 6 on criminal trespass and breach of bail charges after an incident at the resource center.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by Concord Police Department and the Merrimack County Superior Court and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

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