Employees at a Topeka, Kansas television station were surprised by an attacker with a knife yesterday but managed to overtake him before he seriously hurt anyone.
The man, a vet by the name of Ray Miles, contacted the station earlier yesterday about a Department of Veterans Affairs case which he says was being mishandled. When he was told he would have to take it up with them, he became violent and threw a lamp through the glass door to gain access to the station before running pell-mell through the hallways and stabbing two employees in the leg. He also bit one man on the ear before he was tackled and held down.
While the story is disturbing to say the least, it also rings with a sad truth; that veterans who come home with serious emotional and mental issues are often overlooked or even ignored. Many stories have surfaced over the years of deadly prescription pill cocktails being given to veterans to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and unfortunately that seems to be the case all too often when a member of the military seeks help. While it’s not known if Miles was on any medication at the time of the altercation yesterday, officials are aware that Veterans Affairs did play a part in his agitation. Whether or not he will be treated is yet unknown.
Miles and the two victims, Roger Brokke and Greg Palmer, were treated at the hospital for minor injuries and were later released.
