Charges filed against man who allegedly stabbed 11-year-old in Mill Creek

A man has been charged in the March stabbing of an 11-year-old boy at a Dollar Tree in Mill Creek, according to court documents.

A 29-year-old man, Joshua David Pence, was charged with the first-degree assault of a child with a deadly weapon and attempted first-degree assault with a deadly weapon.

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Around 5 p.m. March 22, Mill Creek Police responded to a call about a stabbing outside a Dollar Tree at 3414 132nd Street SE.

When officers arrived, they arrested an adult man without incident and found a boy with a stab wound to his chest. Nobody else was injured.

According to court documents, witnesses said two to three children ran into the store with a man chasing them. One of the shoppers said one of the boys yelled, “It’s not that serious!” before the man grabbed one of the children while holding a large knife.

One of the children told police they saw Pence across the street, and they yelled at him he was an “NPC.” An “NPC” is a “non-playable character” in a video game that is not controlled by a human character.

At that point, witnesses claimed Pence ran across the street and chased the boys inside the store.

According to police, the children said they had called Pence an “NPC” in the past too.

Pence then allegedly stabbed one of the young boys and left the store. Police were able to locate the knife, which was about five inches long.

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The child that was stabbed was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of a partially collapsed lung.

The state has asked for bail to be set at $500,000. Pence has no criminal history and no warrant history, according to court documents.