SUNBURY -- An elderly man is behind bars after police say he attacked one of his roommates with a knife at a home in Sunbury on Sunday.
"When I seen all that blood, I couldn't believe it. I was shocked."
That's how a witness described seeing Howard Shuey after an attack Sunday morning left him bloody. He was taken to the hospital for stab wounds to the neck and head.
Shuey was released from the hospital early Sunday afternoon. He tells Newswatch 16 he was getting ready to start his day with a coffee when all of a sudden, a roommate started stabbing him at his home on North Seventh Street.
"I was up at my room and I opened my door up to see who was there and when I opened up this man just came in there and started stabbing with a knife, saying I stole his food. And I didn't steal nobody's food. I think he came out of a psycho ward or something because he came at me with a knife," Shuey said.
"When I came up the top of the steps, he had a knife in his hands. He was actually just backing up from just getting done stabbing the other tenant," said landlord Donald Heilig.
Police arrested William Bickel, 79, after the attack. Heilig told Newswatch 16 he gave Bickel a place to stay just a couple of days ago.
Brenda Snyder also lives there. She came to Shuey's assistance after hearing him cry for help.
"I heard him saying, 'Brenda, help me, help me, help me. I opened the door up and there he stood, blood all over his hands," Snyder said.
Sunbury police say Bickel attacked Shuey, claiming that he stole his money and food. According to court papers, Bickel later told investigators, "I should have killed him."
"He's the most sweetest person. He loves God with all his heart and soul and he would never hurt nobody," Snyder said.
Heilig owns the home. He says that he's been leasing rooms to tenants for years. Neighbors say this isn't the first incident at the house. They've noticed suspicious activity here before.
"His house always has cops for stupid stuff like this. Drugs, stabbings, people getting beat up in there. All kinds of stuff. He needs to stop," said neighbor Tiffany Bashore.
Bickel is locked up in Centre County. He has been charged with aggravated assault.