28-07-2025
Shelter-in-place order issued in Harrisonburg after random knife attack injures woman
A shelter-in-place order was issued late in the afternoon in Harrisonburg after a woman was attacked by a stranger with a knife on July 23.
The victim, a 54-year-old Harrisonburg resident, was taken to Sentara RMH with critical injuries but she is expected to recover, a press release said.
The attack took place in the 1000 block of Chicago Avenue, prompting the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communication Center to issue the shelter-in-place order for the neighborhood and nearby streets.
Officers from the Harrisonburg Police Department immediately began to search the area for the suspect, who fled the scene. A police canine tracked the suspect's scent to a possible location, the release said, which led to surveillance footage being obtained. The footage was shared across multiple platforms, police said, and the suspect was identified as 44-year-old Hunter Booth of Harrisonburg.
"The Harrisonburg Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Team executed a search warrant athis known residence on Chicago Avenue, and Booth was taken into custody without incident," the release said.
Booth is charged with attempted first-degree murder.
He is being held at the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Regional Jail.
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Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@ You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Harrisonburg man charged with attempted first-degree murder
