Woman Wearing Fur Boots Stabbed By Animal Activist At A Church

An animal rights activist stabbed a woman who was wearing fur boots, at a church in Ohio late on Wednesday.

A babysitter was dropping off children at the Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights on Wednesday around 5:15 p.m. for choir practice. It was then that 35-year-old Meredith Lowell, who lived close to the church, walked in and stabbed the babysitter without any notice.

According to witnesses, they heard a woman scream and later saw the babysitter fall to the ground. The victim was stabbed by Lowell multiple times in the arms and her stomach.

The church staff immediately alerted the authorities about the incident.

When police arrived, they found the babysitter lying in a pool of blood clutching her left side, Fox News reported. She was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Lowell was being pinned down by two witnesses who saw her attack the babysitter. They tackled Lowell and were able to take the weapon, a yellow kitchen knife, from her. Lowell was restrained by them until the police arrived.

Police Chief Annette Mecklenberg commended the actions of the church staff who helped pin down Lowell.

“They put their safety at risk. They were able to restrain her and hold her down until the police arrived,” Mecklenberg told News 5 Cleveland.

Police said that the victim was wearing fur boots while she was attacked. The victim and Lowell had no prior contact before. No other people were reportedly injured during the incident. Church authorities said that the church will reopen on Saturday and Sunday service will be carried on as usual.

Lowell is charged with attempted murder and felonious assault and remains in jail on a bond of $1 million. According to the police, Lowell has a history of violent animal activism.

In 2012 she tried to form a community on Facebook looking to hire someone to kill a person wearing fur.

“I would like to create an online community on Facebook which would allow me to find someone who is willing to kill someone who is wearing fur toward the end of October 2011 or early November 2011 or possibly January 2012 or February 2012 at the latest,” Lowell wrote in Facebook, Fox News reported.

She was, however, deemed incompetent to stand a trial, after multiple evaluations, due to mental diseases.

Later in 2018, Lowell was charged with felonious assault for stabbing a woman. Her motives were not known at the time. A mental health court, specialized for individuals with documented mental health issues, handled her case back then.