Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002 | 11:25 a.m.
On his first day on the job, a security guard helped stop a man who was stabbing two women in their Clark County Social Services office in Henderson, officials said.
The guard, 32-year-old Steven Glenn, was wounded in the melee, as were the two female employees, a 54-year-old social services supervisor and a 56-year-old administrative assistant. Police did not release the names of the two employees.
The three victims were all recovering from their injuries today, listed in fair condition at University Medical Center, authorities said. The two women were expected to be released today.
"No one deserves this, and especially not those who dedicate their lives to helping others," County Manager Thom Reilly said.
Henderson Police arrested Michael T. McLaughlin, 38, of Henderson at the social services office, 67 E. Lake Mead Drive, and McLaughlin was charged with three counts of attempted murder, one count of battery with a deadly weapon and one count of burglary. He was being held at the Henderson Detention Center on $1,005,000 bail.
The office will be closed for up to a week, county spokesman Eric Pappa said, because it's a crime scene, and because the employees who witnessed the attack were traumatized and need time to recover. A sign on the door this morning directed clients to other offices.
McLaughlin, a social services client, was at the office Tuesday morning requesting help, Henderson police said. They would not elaborate on what type of help he was requesting.
At 11:30 a.m. McLaughlin became enraged and began stabbing the one of the women, police said. The other woman tried to help and also was stabbed. His motivation was immediately unclear.
Glenn, who is employed by Official Security and was on duty for the first time at the social services office on Tuesday and does not carry a weapon. He jumped into the fracas to try to pull McLaughlin away from the women, county spokesman Eric Pappa said.
McLaughlin turned his knife on Glenn and hit another person in the room with a chair, police said. That person was treated and released from UMC.
An employee called 911. Henderson Police and paramedics arrived at the office and found Glenn and the two women with stab wounds. Police arrested McLaughlin, and recovered the knife they believe he used.
Glenn might have saved the lives of the two women, Pappa said.
"We're glad he stepped forward and prevented (McLaughlin) from doing more damage," he said. "He did what he was supposed to do. The decision to have a security guard there was a good one."
Darryl Cronfeld, owner of Official Security, which has a contract with the county to provide security at the county social services offices, said Official Security has a "non-combative" policy, in which guards are to call 911 if an emergency arises. But Cronfeld said Glenn did the right thing in trying to stop McLaughlin.
"I commend him for what he did," Cronfeld said. "He stated to me on the phone from the trauma unit yesterday that he could not stand by and watch these two women get stabbed."
Glenn has worked for Official Security since August, and Tuesday he started a new assignment providing security at the social services office. Glenn said Cronfeld expressed concern that he would be fired for violating the company's policy, but Cronfeld said he told him not to worry.
"I can reassure him that he definitely has a job," Cronfeld said, adding that while Glenn is still in the hospital, he's "doing OK."
Glenn has no family in the area, Cronfeld said, so he and other employees of Official Security are looking out for him.
"It was a pretty horrific thing to endure," he said. Counseling will be offered.
"We're reviewing what happened to see if we can learn anything from this, and to see if we can improve security," he said. "Our first priority is our clients and our employees."
Tuesday's case was not the the first time a client has attacked an employee at the East Lake Mead Drive office, Pappa said. About a month ago a client who was told he didn't qualify for services attacked a social worker, scratching her, Pappa said.
Clients who showed up at the closed office about 10 this morning said the office could learn a lot about customer service. They said the experience is frustrating.
Ora Thornton, 57, who was at the office for the fourth time in five months, said she has experienced a runaround in trying to get help for two family members.
"When you're in this position, and you're playing God with people's lives ... you have to have feelings," she said. "I said to (a clerk), 'You better be careful, your attitude is going to get you in trouble someday.'
"If you put a phone number for people to call in with complaints about this office, it would be ringing off the hook."
Monica Gray, 33, was at the office a third time in two weeks seeking help with unpaid medical bills for her son, 14, and daughter, 6, who both have asthma. After gathering all of the documentation she said was needed, she returned to the office at 7 a.m. one day last week.
"I was told 'I'm sorry, you have to wait in line at 5 a.m.,' " Gray said. She asked why she hadn't been told that the previous day and asked how to get an appointment. She said a clerk told her told "I'm sorry, I don't have time for you," and shut the window, she said.
The social workers are also under pressure, Social Services Director Verlia Davis-Hoggard said. Satellite offices have been burdened by an increase in cases since the unemployment rate rose after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In the past year the department's caseload increased by 20 percent, she said. The office handles about 15,000 cases a year.
"We see everybody who comes in, and we'll continue to see people who come in," Davis-Hoggard said this morning. "We have no control over poverty or the indigent. There is a continuing increase in unemployment and a continuing increase in the number of people coming to town."
Social workers typically offer assistance to the disabled, elderly or parents with young children first. That leaves long waits for others.
"You could conceivable wait for four or five hours," Davis-Hoggard said.
She said McLaughlin had previously visited the office, but declined to comment further.
"He was apparently known to the people at the office," she said. "I cannot give you any information about the client."
Davis-Hoggard said the five satellite offices are strategically located where there is the most need. The social services division is in the process of moving its Henderson office because of concerns about mold, she said.
Sun reporters
Timothy Pratt and Adrienne Packer contributed to this story.
archive
