A cruise ship worker was arrested in Alaska on Tuesday, May 7 after allegedly stabbing a passenger and two security guards with a pair of scissors while on board, authorities said.
Knewz.com has learned that the cruise ship worker, 35-year-old South African man Ntando Sogoni, was arrested by the FBI after disembarking in Juneau on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska.
According to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Matthew Judy, Sogoni was a new hire who joined the ship, the Norwegian Encore, in Seattle on Sunday, May 5. That day, the ship set off on a week-long voyage with stops scheduled in Alaska and British Columbia, Canada.
Late Sunday night, ship employees allegedly saw Sogoni trying to deploy a lifeboat, and ship security intervened. He was escorted to the ship's medical center for evaluation.
In the medical center, Sogoni allegedly attacked a security guard and a male nurse inside an examination room.
He then went to another room, where a U.S. woman was being examined, and stabbed her multiple times in the arm, hand and face with a pair of scissors.
When two security guards intervened, Sogoni allegedly stabbed one in the head and the other in the back and shoulders. He was detained in the ship's jail until his arrest.
Sogoni is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon within maritime and territorial jurisdiction.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.
—TMX contributed to this report.