BEATRICE – A male authorities said had a history of mental health problems was taken from an area in downtown Beatrice this morning, after suffering stab wounds.


"It was apparently a suicide attempt...the individual stabbed himself in multiple places....a lot of blood loss."


Beatrice Police Chief Bruce Lang says police received a number of calls about a man not wearing clothing, stabbing himself near the area of Sixth and Elk, two blocks north of the center of downtown. An emergency radio dispatch at 9:55 a.m., reported a man walking around, stabbing himself.


The man, estimated to be in his mid-30s, was taken in very critical condition by Beatrice Fire and Rescue to Beatrice Community Hospital. A medical helicopter was summoned, at around ten a.m. The helicopter landed at Beatrice Municipal Airport at around 10:20 a.m., to take the injured man to Bryan West Health in Lincoln.  The victim later died at the Lincoln hospital. 


Lang says the man resided at a nearby apartment complex and was running west toward the highway. The man was not pursuing anyone else, and no one else was injured. Police cordoned off the area between Sixth and Seventh Street on Elk Street next to the Centenary United Methodist Church.  Investigators recovered a knife at the scene of the incident.

The nearby Beatrice Middle School and St. Joseph's Catholic School were placed on secure status while the incident took place....with outside doors locked but classes continuing.