Tennessee truck stop workers fatally stabbed; officers kill suspect in parking lot

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WREG) -- A man who was shot and killed after fatally stabbing three women and injuring a fourth at a Tennessee truck stop early Tuesday has been identified by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Officers responding to a report of a stabbing at a truck stop in Knoxville at 7 a.m. Tuesday saw at least one person with stab wounds outside the store. A man armed with a knife and identified by witnesses as the suspect was also in the parking lot.

The suspect, Idris Abdus-Salaam, a 33-year-old truck driver from Durham, was shot and killed by law enforcement, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Officers confronted Abdus-Salaam, who refused to drop the weapon. At some point during the encounter, one of the officers fired shots, striking him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The three deceased victims were all employed at the Pilot Travel Center on Strawberry Plains Pike. They have been identified as Joyce Whaley, 57; Patricia Denise Nibbe, 51; and Nettie R. Spencer, 41. The fourth victim, who was a customer and has not been identified, remains hospitalized.