Bloody attack described in court records

Jen Lawson

Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002 | 9:43 a.m.

Security guard Steven Glenn was sitting in an office at the Clark County Social Services center, just starting his lunch break, when he heard a scream.

Glenn, 32, ran out to the reception area and saw a man on top of administrative assistant Kathryn Atkinson, court records show. The man, identified as Michael Tracy McLaughlin, 32, was beating her.

Glenn pushed McLaughlin off her, and that's when Glenn saw the bloody knife in McLaughlin's hand.

McLaughlin was being held in the Henderson Detention Center, accused of stabbing Glenn, Atkinson, 56, and office supervisor Susan Rhodes, 55. The attack occurred Tuesday at the Clark County Social Services Center, 67 E. Lake Mead Drive in Henderson.

McLaughlin is charged with three counts each of attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon and one count of burglary. He had an initial appearance Wednesday in Henderson Justice Court, where bail was set at $1,005,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 19.

Glenn and Rhodes remain in good condition today at the University Medical Center. Atkinson was released from that hospital Wednesday, officials said.

Court records describe a bloody, chaotic attack.

Rhodes told police McLaughlin had been in the office earlier in the week seeking financial help. He was told he qualified for medical aid, but not rent assistance.

McLaughlin re-turned Wednesday -- with three knives -- to talk to his caseworker about getting help paying his rent.

He waited for more than an hour for his caseworker. Then, about 11:30 a.m., before he could see the caseworker, employee Gail Baldwin told everyone in the reception area that there would be no more appointments and everyone should come back Wednesday.

McLaughlin jumped out of his chair.

"You people think you can get away with anything!" he shouted, then attacked Atkinson with his fists and a knife, according to court records.

He punched her in the face and stabbed her several times. Atkinson told police she remembers McLaughlin holding the knife to her throat, and she thought he was going to kill her.

Glenn, in the midst of his first day on the job guarding the social services office, ran toward the screams. He pulled McLaughlin off Atkinson, and McLaughlin turned the knife on him, records show.

Rhodes heard the commotion and yelled for someone to call 911. She told police she thinks McLaughlin came after her because he heard her trying to get help.

Glenn grabbed a chair and hit McLaughlin with it in an attempt to get him off Rhodes. Others helped pull McLaughlin away, and they held him until Henderson Police arrived and arrested him.

During the melee, McLaughlin also hit Edward Johanns, 55, in the head with a chair.

The officers who responded to the 911 call found "blood on the floor everywhere" and two knives on the floor near the reception area. They said they recognized McLaughlin from prior arrests.

McLaughlin has a lengthy arrest record, dating back at least to 1984, Officer Shane Lewis said. Offenses included possession of drugs, possession of a weapon, burglary, car theft, driving under the influence and resisting arrest.

But most of the offenses were either dropped or reduced to lesser offenses, according to court records. He was sentenced in 1999 to two to five years in prison for possession of a stolen vehicle, but records don't show how long he actually served.

The victims were taken to University Medical Center's trauma unit, and McLaughlin was taken across the street to St. Rose Dominican Hospital to be treated for injuries to his hands from the knives.

Police took McLaughlin to Henderson Police headquarters for a taped interview. An officer read him his rights, but said "I have nothing to say" when police questioned him.