Fight ensues on STA bus in Airway Heights after 23-year-old pulls knife

A 23-year-old man is accused of assaulting another man using a knife last month on a Spokane Transit Authority bus in Airway Heights.

Abraham Holder was charged with first-degree assault.

The victim told police he was on the bus on the night of June 26 while it was parked at the bus stop on Hayford Road and 12th Avenue near Walmart. He said he confronted another passenger, who was yelling at two young men, when Holder approached him, according to court documents.

The victim told police he and Holder argued, and Holder pulled a knife from his jacket and made “multiple slashing motions” toward the victim with the knife. He said Holder cut a hole in his shirt with the knife before he disarmed Holder.

Court documents did not indicate what injuries, if any, the victim had. Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Haskell wrote in an email that he could not comment on the ongoing case.

An Airway Heights police officer found two folding knives in Holder’s pants pocket, documents say.

The officer wrote that bus surveillance footage showed Holder pulling a knife from his jacket, charging the victim and making “multiple slashing motions” toward the victim.

Holder said, “I’m gonna kill you …” to the victim, according to the video. Surveillance showed Holder and the victim fighting for about two minutes, documents say.

Holder was taken to a hospital for a “medical clearance” before being booked into the Spokane County Jail.

He was released from jail after his $20,000 bond was posted. He is scheduled for an arraignment Tuesday in Spokane County Superior Court.