ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — An employee who survived a stabbing at an Albany personal care home is speaking out about the attack, saying she is grateful to be alive after residents stepped in to help her and correcting the extent of her injuries.

Shakisha Jones said she was working at Friendship Personal Care Home on Oglethorpe Boulevard when she was attacked with scissors on Friday, Oct. 23 around 5:12 p.m.

Albany police say 60-year-old Arlene White was leaving the building with scissors when officers arrived. Police say she dropped them and was detained. White was charged with aggravated assault with a cutting tool. Police say she told officers she “intended to do so.”

“She just charged me”

Jones, who said she has worked at the home for nine years, said she was talking to another resident in the office when White propped herself against the wall and asked her to stop making noises with the scissors.

“I told her, ‘I’m in the office, in my personal space, you can go back in your room,’” Jones said.

Jones said White replied, “I’m not going back in my room. As a matter of fact, I’m going to take the scissors.”

“And she just charged me,” Jones said.

“She actually looked at me and told me she was going to kill me, and she actually tried to,” Jones said.

Victim details extent of injuries

Police initially reported one victim suffered three stab wounds to the back of the head and another victim was stabbed in the hand.

Jones told WALB her injuries were more extensive, five stab wounds total: three to the top and back of the head and two to the side of the face. She said two of the face wounds became infected. She also said her lip was injured, she lost half a tooth, and she sprained her hand, the same hand injured before.

Jones said two residents physically intervened while a third called police, holding White back until she could break free and get out of the building.

“If those two individuals had not intervened, my children would have had to bury their mother,” Jones said. “It was three of us trying to contain this one person.”

One of the residents who intervened was also injured, according to Jones. She said she doesn’t know the extent of his injuries because she left by ambulance and hasn’t been back since.

“I’m just really blessed to be alive, and I am so grateful for my residents that stepped in to assist me,” she said. She also thanked Albany police and EMTs, saying they were “really quick.”

Jones said one EMT told her, “It’s bad, but it’s not as bad... it could have been worse. You’re still here,” which she said calmed her down.

Jones says there was a previous encounter

Jones told WALB this was not her first violent encounter with White.

She said the same resident was charged last November with simple battery against her after knocking two of her nails off in front of police. Jones said White went to jail, then to another facility, and was ordered to stay 100 feet away from her.

WALB is working to independently verify details surrounding the previous case and any court order.

Jones said the prior encounter makes Friday’s attack especially troubling for her safety.

“My life is important too,” Jones said. “This incident really did a lot to me more so than the last one.”

Jones said one supervisor called her the Saturday after the attack, but she missed the call. She said she sent in paperwork and has not heard the follow-up she hoped for in nine years at the facility.

“I wouldn’t feel so bad if they had genuinely said, ‘Hey, we’re sorry this really happened to you. It shouldn’t have happened to you because she shouldn’t have been there again,’” Jones said. “‘How can we help? What can we do? Do you need anything?’ I have not heard those words.”

Jones said her children are angry and her mother, who already lost one child — is taking it hard.

She said she wants facilities to prioritize employee safety, too.

“Them to care. People to care about their employees, not just the business,” Jones said. “Our safety matters too.”

Suspect’s family speaks

Charenthia Blocker, identified herself as White’s niece and said she did not know her aunt was in Albany. She last knew her to be in Milledgeville.

Blocker said White has dealt with mental illness for decades since Blocker was 15 or 16. Blocker is now 50.

“She’s not a vicious person,” Blocker said. “This is just a thing that happened that has never, ever happened with her.”

Blocker stressed she does not believe White is “some type of criminal” who set out to stab someone, but that the incident stemmed from her mental state. She said she does not know what medications, if any, White was on or what triggered her.

“She definitely needs it because that’s what she was getting, and that’s why we never had any of these incidents,” Blocker said of mental hospital treatment versus jail.

WALB has not independently verified White’s medical history. Police have not said whether mental illness played a role.

WALB has reached out to Friendship Personal Care Home for response regarding what happened inside the facility, Jones’ allegations and what steps are being taken to protect employees and residents. The owner was not in town and the manager declined to interview.

White remains charged with aggravated assault with a cutting tool.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X. For more south Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.