Off-duty cop in hospital after knife-wielding man attacks him at Walmart, SC cops say

An off-duty police officer was rushed to a hospital Thursday afternoon after a man knocked him to the ground and started hitting him “for no apparent reason” at a South Carolina Walmart, Spartanburg police say.

Police responded to a call at 1:30 p.m. about a fight inside a Walmart at 141 Dorman Center Dr. While making their way to the scene, the call was changed to an officer down call.

The suspect, identified as James Ray Cunningham, 22, punched the officer several times and was brandishing a knife during the struggle, but witnesses were able to pull him off of the officer, according to police.

Cunningham then ran from the store, jumped in a black sedan and tried to speed out of the parking lot, but crashed into another vehicle and was arrested, police said.

The other driver was not injured, according to police.

The off-duty officer, who was working security at the Walmart, was taken to a hospital for treatment, but his condition wasn’t known.

He was in uniform when he was attacked, Fox Carolina reported.

Cunningham faced charges of attempted murder and assault in 2017 for allegedly stabbing his brother in the neck, outlets report and court records show. And in 2018 he allegedly bodyslammed, punched and kicked a McDonald’s co-worker, as she laid unconscious. He was charged with first degree assault and battery.

Charges in Thursday’s attack are pending.

This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 4:42 PM.