GREENVILLE — Deputies say a homeless woman stabbed a Miracle Hill employee with a sword at one of its emergency shelters as she was being evicted.
Michell Silva Perez, 34, refused to leave the shelter on Regency Hill Drive about 11 a.m. July 18, according to a Greenville County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Perez was arguing with a woman who worked at the shelter when it became physical. Perez pushed the woman to the ground and stabbed her in the stomach with what an arrest warrant characterized as a sword, to the extent that her internal organs were exposed.
The woman was transported to a local hospital for emergency surgery. Her condition is unknown, sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Ryan Flood told The Post and Courier.
When asked what qualifies as a sword, Flood said that it was a “sharp-edged object” but did not specify further.
Perez was taken into custody at the scene and charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, arrest warrants show.
At the Greenville County jail, Perez, who is transgender, is being housed with men but in isolation because she is still transitioning to being a woman, Flood said.
Perez was previously evicted from an apartment off Roper Mountain Road in February, according to court records.
The shelter Perez was staying at is run by Miracle Hill Ministries, a local Christian non-profit dedicated to helping the homeless. It’s specifically for women and mothers with young children, according to their website.