Homeless man arrested in fatal stabbing at N.J. shopping center

CLIFTON, N.J. - A homeless man is in jail after allegedly stabbing two men, killing one, at a shopping center in New Jersey, reports CBS New York.

Police arrested 61-year-old Henry Werner in connection with the crime, which took place at the Richfield Shopping Center in Clifton, N.J., 10 miles west of New York City, on Monday morning. Witnesses told CBS New York that Werner beat up and stabbed an 81-year-old man seemingly without provocation. When the victim's 67-year-old friend tried to intercede, he too was stabbed, according to the station.

"The two fellows who were stabbed came down from Dunkin' Donuts, and Henry followed them down," Debbie Roon, who runs a nearby laundromat, told CBS New York.

According to Roon, the incident occurred just after 7 a.m. The witness told the station that she heard shouting coming from the strip mall and ran outside to see Henry, one of the victims and an off-duty police officer rolling around on the sidewalk.

"He's shouting, 'I'm a cop, I'm a cop,'" Roon said. "He's actually on top of Henry, who's on top of the guy that he had just stabbed."

CBS New York reports that both victims were rushed to the hospital, and that the 67-year-old victim died shortly thereafter. The 81-year-old was reportedly slashed in the back during the altercation. The names of the two men have not been released.

"I've never had a problem with Henry," Roon said, telling the station that the homeless man had been a fixture in the area for years. She said she was shocked by his alleged violent outburst. "If he ever came here and I asked him to leave a couple of times, he just got up and left."