Pastor stabbed in random attack while having coffee at cafe, Florida cops say

A pastor was having coffee at a cafe one morning when a passerby stabbed him and fled, Florida authorities said.

A couple hours later, 22-year-old Arieana Gibbs was arrested and charged with attempted second-degree homicide, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and felony simple assault, the St. Augustine Police Department said.

At about 8 a.m. Oct. 23, the pastor was having coffee at a downtown cafe when the stabbing occurred, WJAX and WJXT reported.

A police spokesperson told WTLV-WJXX that the two didn’t know each other.

Shortly after the attack, the Episcopal Diocese of Florida confirmed the victim was the lead pastor at Trinity Parish, considered the oldest Protestant church in the state based on its 1821 founding.

The Episcopal Diocese said the pastor was taken to a hospital in Jacksonville, where he was in stable condition, awake and talking.

McClatchy News reached out to police for information but did not immediately receive a response Oct. 24.

St. Augustine is about a 40-mile drive southeast from downtown Jacksonville.