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- A cruise ship worker was accused of stabbing a passenger and attacking crew members.
- The incident occurred on the Norwegian Encore on its voyage to Alaska from Seattle, AP reported.
- The worker was arrested and faces assault charges, the district attorney's office said.
A cruise ship employee was arrested after he allegedly used scissors to stab three people aboard a ship that was traveling to Alaska.
The employee, identified as Ntando Sogoni from South Africa, had recently started working on Norwegian Encore, a ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line,.
According to AP News, which cited an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Matthew Judy, the ship disembarked from Seattle on Sunday and was scheduled to stop in Alaskan ports, including Junea, during the weeklong voyage.
Sogoni, 35, was on duty on Monday when he began to exhibit "unusual and irrational behaviour," a spokesperson for the Norwegian Cruise Line told Business Insider. He allegedly tried to deploy a lifeboat from the ship, according to a press release issued by the district attorney's office.
According to the FBI, Sogoni was taken to the ship's medical center for examination, where he then "physically attacked" a security guard and a nurse before using a pair of scissors to stab a passenger who was being examined.
Sogoni allegedly stabbed the passenger several times in her arm, hand, and face. A security guard who intervened was stabbed in the head, while a second security guard was stabbed in the back and shoulders, authorities said.
The conditions of the passenger and staff are unknown, though AP News reported that none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The ship was traveling west of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, when the alleged incident took place, the publication added.
Sogoni was held in the ship's jail before being arrested in Juneau on Tuesday.
Sogoni is facing charges of assault with a dangerous weapon. He could face up to 10 years in prison in addition to a $250,000 fine for each count if convicted, they added.
The cruise industry made $19 billion in revenue in 2022, according to the online data platform Statista.
The US Department of Transportation keeps a record of reported crimes on cruise ships through quarterly reports. According to a recent cruise line incident report, 47 alleged incidents were reported to the FBI between January and March of this year.
Of the incidents reported, eight were recorded as assault with serious bodily injury, one was recorded as a missing US national, and six alleged thefts of under $10,000 were reported. There were also 16 cases categorized as "sexual assault," and a further 16 were categorized as "sexual assault — rape."
The district attorney's office, Juneau's police department, and Sogoni's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.