The attack happened outside businesses in Okolona, where witnesses gave police a description of the suspect and weapon.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Veterinary workers near Preston Highway helped an injured man after police said he was struck with a cleaver during a public sidewalk attack Monday evening in Louisville.
The emergency response began outside businesses in the 7300 block of Preston Highway, where police said a stranger attack left a man with wounds to his head and right shoulder. Jeremiah Page, 30, was arrested soon afterward and charged with attempted murder and first-degree assault. The case stands out not only for the weapon police described, but also for the alleged motive. Investigators said Page told officers he wanted to kill the victim because the man was a foreigner.
The first aid did not begin in a hospital or ambulance. Police said veterinary technicians from nearby Preston Animal Hospital helped the victim after seeing the attack unfold outside. Their response came before the victim was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for injuries described in court records as serious. Officials later said the man survived and was expected to live. Police have not released his name. They also have not released his age, nationality or a detailed medical update, and public reports did not say how long he remained hospitalized.
The victim did not speak English, according to police, but he was able to communicate enough to describe the assault and help investigators. Police said he told officers he had been walking on the sidewalk when Page approached him with a cleaver-knife. The victim’s account was one piece of evidence. Investigators also cited witness statements and video that captured the attack. Several workers in the area called 911 and gave officers information about the suspect, the weapon and the direction he went after the assault.
Police said Page struck the victim multiple times, hitting him twice in the head and once in the right shoulder. The attack occurred at about 5:30 p.m. April 6, a time when people were still moving through the commercial area. Preston Highway in Okolona is lined with businesses, parking lots and sidewalks, placing workers and customers close to the scene. The public setting helped witnesses see enough to call police quickly. It also left people nearby watching as an ordinary workday shifted into a violent crime scene.
Victor Meza, who worked near the scene, said Page had come onto a nearby property before the attack and acted in a way that alarmed workers. “He started getting loud and saying all kinds of things like he owned the place,” Meza said. “You could tell something was going on with him, so we just kicked him out.” Meza’s account gave investigators and the public a glimpse of Page’s behavior before the assault, though police did not say whether that earlier episode led to any formal report before the victim was attacked.
After the attack, police said Page ran north on Preston Highway and returned to a camp where he had been staying. Officers found him nearby after speaking with witnesses. Police said he still had the cleaver believed to have been used in the assault. Officers arrested him and read him his Miranda rights several times before he gave a statement. According to police, Page admitted attacking the man. Investigators said he claimed the victim was trespassing on his land and that he owned all of Louisville.
The alleged statements shaped the early criminal case. Police said Page told them he had never met the victim before the attack, undercutting any claim of a personal dispute. Investigators also said Page tied the assault to the victim being a foreigner. That detail placed the case in a broader category of alleged stranger violence with a stated bias motive, though prosecutors had not publicly announced any separate hate crime enhancement or civil rights count in the first reports. The charges filed were attempted murder and first-degree assault.
In court Tuesday, Page pleaded not guilty. A judge set bond at $750,000. The judge said the allegations were troubling and referred to both the nature of the attack and the motive written in the records. The court also noted that Page had a history of mental health issues and had recently been at Central State. That statement did not resolve any legal question about competency, responsibility or treatment. Those issues, if raised by attorneys, would have to move through the court process. The public record available after the hearing did not include a completed mental health evaluation.
The victim’s condition remained partly unclear after the first court appearance. Some police records described serious and life-threatening injuries, while Louisville Metro Police later said the wounds were not life-threatening. The clearest public point was that the man survived. Law enforcement did not disclose whether he required surgery, whether he remained in intensive care or whether he had an interpreter during medical treatment. Police also did not say whether relatives had been notified. The absence of those details left the court case focused mainly on the suspect’s alleged conduct and statements.
The role of nearby workers became an important part of the timeline. Witnesses saw the attack, reported it and helped police locate the suspect. Veterinary staff helped the victim before medical crews took over. Their actions were described in police accounts as part of the immediate response, not as the cause of the arrest. The arrest came after officers spoke with witnesses, found Page near the scene and recovered the weapon. Police have not said whether the cleaver was tested for forensic evidence or whether additional video from nearby businesses was collected.
Howard Cobb, who works nearby, said the incident stirred concern about people living on the margins and public safety in the area. “Mental health is so overlooked for the marginalized, for the least,” Cobb said. His comments followed the judge’s reference to Page’s mental health history, but police records still frame the event as a violent assault with an alleged stated motive. The court will decide how those facts are weighed. The case had not advanced to trial, and Page remained presumed innocent.
For the veterinary workers and nearby businesses pulled into the response, the case remained tied to a single sidewalk scene where a wounded man survived, a suspect was arrested nearby and the next answers were expected in Jefferson County court on April 17.
Author note: Last updated April 29, 2026.