Iowa City woman threatens day care with butcher knife, faces assault and child endangerment charges, police say

Woman told police she intended to scare people after dispute between her child and another child

Dec. 3, 2021 10:27 am

Samahir Nayel Almhairat, Johnson County Jail booking photo. Dec. 2, 2021.

IOWA CITY — An Iowa City woman is facing assault and child endangerment charges after going to a day care armed with a butcher knife on Thursday.

Samahir Almhairat, 44, swung an 8-inch knife in the air and threatened to hurt people at the day care, according to a criminal complaint from the Iowa City Police Department. The incident happened at 4:45 p.m. at the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, 2651 Roberts Rd.

Almhairat said she intended to scare people following a dispute between her child and another child, according to the complaint.

Police said Almhairat returned home with the knife. When police approached her, Almhairat handed the knife to a child and told the child to run. Police were able to disarm the child.

Almhairat was held at the Johnson County Jail on an $11,000 bond, which was posted on Friday.

She is facing one felony charge of going armed with intent, as well as two aggravated misdemeanor charges. The aggravated misdemeanor charges include assault while displaying a dangerous weapon and child endangerment.

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