Fort Worth Kroger cashier stabbed by armed robber recalls terrifying ordeal
FORT WORTH, Texas - A grocery store cashier says she's instantly reminded of the pain she felt when she was stabbed by an armed robber at work.
The victim spent eight days in a hospital after the May 1 attack that happened in the middle of the afternoon at a Kroger in Fort Worth.
The woman says a man pointed a knife at her, demanding money. When she turned around, she says he stabbed her in the stomach.
Mariah Smith has a long road of recovery ahead, but she’s thankful to be alive. Since she’s been home, she’s had flashbacks to that day and is still asking why it happened to her.
What started out as a normal day at work changed Smith’s life forever.
"I was just going to work that day for now this to happen… I was in total disbelief," she said.
Smith was an hour into her shift as a part-time cashier at the Kroger on Camp Bowie. She was ringing up a customer when she felt something poke her in the back. When she turned around, she saw a man standing behind her.
"I was like, ‘How can I help you?’ And he has this knife pointed towards me saying, ‘Open the register or I’m gonna stab you,’" she recalled.
Panic and anxiety set in.
The cash register was locked, and the man boxed Smith in so she couldn’t run. She turned around again, and the man stabbed her in the stomach.
"I ran to the front of the store, and I was like, ‘Help me! I’ve just been stabbed! I’ve just been stabbed!’" she recalled.
Coworkers came to Smith’s aid until emergency crews got there.
"I was just crying to her, ‘Am I gonna die?’" she recalled.
Other coworkers pinned down the suspect until Fort Worth police arrived. Michael Pitts, 37, was arrested on scene.
"He immediately surrendered," Smith said. "He didn’t even put up a fight."
A motive is still unclear.
Police say Pitts underwent a mental evaluation, but the results have not been released.
Smith was taken to the hospital and had surgery to remove one of her kidneys, her spleen and a part of her pancreas.
"It was a small stab wound," she said. "But the surgery that I had goes all the way down here."
The 21-year-old says basic tasks, like walking, are difficult.
"I just felt like all this was unnecessary for me to go through because, really, I was just doing my job that day," she said.
Smith is thankful to be alive and plans to use this experience to help others as an aspiring nurse.
"Because I’ll be able to tell my story," she said.
Pitts is charged with aggravated robbery. He’s still being held in the Tarrant County jail on a $145,000 bond.
