WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), a market leader in advanced electronic control devices released the following News Alert:
According to reports from the Rocky Mountain News, a University of Colorado freshman was stabbed in the neck Monday when a man with a history of mental illness attacked him outside the campus student center on the student's first day of class. 17-year-old Michael George Knorps of Winnetka, Illinois was grabbed from behind by Kenton Drew Astin, 39, and cut in throat before he broke free from his attacker's grip. Astin, who worked as a cashier last year at the Alferd Park Grill, allegedly drove onto campus and walked to the terrace of the student center where he pulled out the knife and began yelling incoherently that he had a bomb.
Police arrived around 9:40 a.m. to find Knorps holding his neck on the sidewalk outside the student center. Astin was nearby with the knife yelling about "the end of the world" and rambling about a bomb. He then turned the knife on himself and stabbed himself six times. Officers asked Astin to drop the knife and he complied but continued to make suicidal remarks and count down as if he was detonating a bomb. It was then that police deployed a TASER electronic control device to subdue Astin.
"The officer used restraint," said Boulder County Sheriff's Office Division Chief Dennis Hopper. "If deadly force was used it probably would have been justified."
Knorps underwent surgery to repair damaged neck tissue and is expected to make a full recovery. Astin was arrested and hospitalized at Boulder Community College for several self-inflicted stab wounds. He is listed in serious condition.
In 2001, Astin was sent to a state mental institution after being accused of stabbing a 21-year-old Longmont man. He plead not guilty in the case by reason of insanity.
This information was compiled through publicly available media reports and distributed by Dittus Communications, Inc. of Washington, D.C.
TASER International, Inc. and Dittus Communications, Inc. disclaim any responsibility for the accuracy of the media reports that are the sole responsibility of the attributed media source.
For more information on this life saving technology, please visit: www.TASER.com.
The TASER International logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2931