Two women have been hospitalized after being stabbed and beaten during an apparent robbery today at Skelton’s U-Haul on Grenada Boulevard just outside the Greenwood city limits.
Melanie Riley, the business’ owner, and Lori Wixon, Riley’s sister-in-law, were inside the shop with the door locked at around 2 p.m. when two men allegedly battered down the front door and attacked the women, stabbing both and repeatedly striking the women in the face.
Wixon was airlifted to a hospital in Jackson. Riley was taken by ambulance to the Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville.
About $110 in cash was taken during the robbery, said Angela Cleveland, a sister-in-law of Riley’s who arrived at the store after the break-in. Cleveland said the two women were the only people inside the business at the time of the attack.
Cleveland said Riley and Wixon had attempted to provide authorities with descriptions of their attackers before being taken away for medical treatment but that the alleged attackers had escaped from the scene.
At least six deputies from the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department responded to the robbery, temporarily closing down Grenada Boulevard and stringing yellow crime-scene tape around the business.
A deputy assigned to guard the crime scene said he couldn’t provide any additional information about the attack or robbery. Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks was not immediately available for comment.
For additional coverage, see Tuesday’s Commonwealth.
• Contact Bryn Stole at 581-7235 or bstole@gwcommonwealth.com.
