Machete-wielding man angered by COVID-19 shutdowns attacks random couple, TN cops say

A 35-year-old homeless man is accused of attacking a husband and wife with a machete to “demonstrate his anger” over COVID-19 lockdowns, Tennessee police said Sunday.

Kelvin Edwards had never met the couple, police said, calling the assault “callous, and unprovoked.”

Kevin Kraft, 55, and Leanne Kraft, 50, were waiting inside the office of Public Storage at 800 5th Ave. South in Nashville when Edwards entered with a machete he had apparently been storing at the site and “without warning, repeatedly struck the victims with his machete, even after they were on the floor badly bleeding.”

Edwards then exited the building, threw down the machete, and waited with his hands in the air as police arrived, officials said.

A call came in to 911 at 2:47 p.m. and Edwards was in custody three minutes later. He has been charged with two counts of attempted murder.

In an interview with a detective, Edwards said he was angry over coronavirus shutdowns and not being able to get into the Rescue Mission, a local homeless shelter, according to a release.

The Krafts are being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. First responders applied tourniquets to the husband and wife on scene to slow the bleeding.

Edwards has had prior run-ins with the law in Nashville, records show. While in jail for felony vandalism in 2017, he spit on two sheriff’s deputies, earning him two counts of assault for which he was convicted, according to police.

Though his driver’s license lists an address in Little Rock, Arkansas, authorities believe he’s been in Nashville since at least 2016 — the time of his first arrests in the city.

This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Machete-wielding man angered by COVID-19 shutdowns attacks random couple, TN cops say."