Howardville man charged in stabbing

SIKESTON, MO -- A 29-year-old man was charged Thursday with stabbing a woman outside a Sikeston Wal-Mart during an apparent robbery. Alex Hamilton, of Howardville, Mo., was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, according to a Sikeston Department of Public Safety news release. The attack occurred Wednesday afternoon as the woman was walking toward the store entrance. When stabbed in the shoulder, the 56-year-old woman spun around and knocked the knife from the assailant's hand, according to the release. She told police she believed the motive of the attack was an attempted robbery, police said. Neither the victim nor the defendant knew one another. The victim was treated and released from a local hospital following the attack. Bond information for Hamilton was not immediately available.