Lawyer Argues Self-Defense: Woman Allegedly Stabbed Train Passenger 14 Times After Provoked Altercation, While Bystanders Did Nothing

In a shocking incident aboard an Arizona train, a woman has been accused of stabbing a fellow passenger more than a dozen times after an altercation reportedly erupted between them. Her defense attorney argues that she acted out of self-defense, claiming that other passengers simply watched and did not intervene.

Allante Wallace, aged 34, now faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following the February 12 incident. Court documents, as reported by Law&Crime, outline the charges against her.

The police affidavit details how Wallace allegedly used a “steak knife” to stab a 42-year-old woman at least 14 times. After the attack, she allegedly returned to her seat, collected a “pizza box,” and her distinctive Dexter’s Laboratory cartoon backpack before exiting the train. This unsettling scene was reportedly captured by the train’s surveillance cameras.

The affidavit further describes Wallace as leaving the light rail car, knife in hand, with a pizza box and the white backpack featuring the cartoon character Dexter. The incident took place on an eastbound Valley Metro light rail train situated near East Apache Boulevard and South Dorsey Lane in Tempe. Witnesses recounted seeing Wallace and the victim involved in a verbal dispute that quickly escalated into violence.

Wallace was on an eastbound Valley Metro light rail train traveling near East Apache Boulevard and South Dorsey Lane in Tempe when she and the victim were observed by witnesses “engaging in a verbal confrontation that escalated into a physical fight,” according to police.

“One witness reported hearing the victim confront the suspect verbally before the assault,” the affidavit alleges. “During the physical struggle, witnesses observed the suspect retrieve a knife — described as a ‘steak knife’ — and stab the victim repeatedly at close range.”

Police say Wallace stabbed the woman several times in her left thigh, once in the right thigh, once in the left breast, twice in the left forearm, once in the right abdomen, once in the left armpit, and twice in her jaw. She was hospitalized with “life-threatening” injuries but survived.

“Several of the stabs were when the suspect was standing over the victim who was laying on her back in a defensive posture with the suspect using an overhead to downward stabbing motion,” the affidavit says.

Before the fight, surveillance video shows the victim pointing her finger at Wallace and “closing the distance” between them while Wallace was still seated. The victim can then be seen “getting up and walking towards the area” where Wallace is sitting “and standing over her,” according to the affidavit.

It’s unclear where the knife that Wallace allegedly used to attack the victim came from. Police say the victim can be seen pulling Wallace’s hair and fighting with her before the knife appears on video.

“[Wallace] picks up a knife with a red handle off of the car floor and begins to stab the victim,” the affidavit says. “[Wallace] proceeds to stab the victim at least 14 times. Midway during the stabbing, victim lets go of [Wallace’s] hair but [Wallace] continues to stab victim.”

After the fight and after fleeing, Wallace contacted a defense attorney and agreed to turn herself in with him, according to police.

“Her attorney … stated that his client Allante Wallace was at the light rail last night … and was attacked in which she defended herself then left the light rail in shock,” the affidavit says. “Wallace did not want to provide any further statements.”

Wallace appeared in court this week and her lawyer once again claimed that she committed the stabbing in self-defense, according to local NBC affiliate KPNX. The attorney said everyone on the light rail train with Wallace was “just watching” the fight and not stepping in, KPNX reports.

Wallace was ordered held on a $350,000 bond. Her next court date has not been listed online yet as of Thursday.