Chief: Victim of library scissors attack will recover; Daytona police to increase presence

Extra patrols and a greater police presence will be in place at the Daytona Beach Regional Library at City Island after a vicious scissors attack there Tuesday.

The violent incident left an employee with a broken nose and stab wounds to her eye, said police Chief Craig Capri.

Capri said Wednesday that his officers will work with Volusia County, which is responsible for security at the library because it is a county-run facility.

Police will work hand-in-hand with the in-house security officer to ensure that employees and the public are safe, Capri said.

Volusia County spokesman Kevin Captain said late Wednesday that the Daytona Beach Regional Library currently has a security guard on staff from Giddens Security, who patrols the 45,000-square-foot facility.

A second security guard will be added when the library reopens Monday, Captain said.

The library was shut down because of the attack and employees were being offered counseling if they needed help in the wake of the incident.

"Today, County Manager George Recktenwald collaborated with Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri and City Manager Jim Chisholm, regarding efforts to ramp up security measures at the Daytona Beach Regional Library," Captain said. "The county will be adding an armed private security guard while the city will be increasing law enforcement presence around the vicinity."

According to Daytona Beach police, on Tuesday at 11:31 a.m., Burnian Bedford, 55, believed to be homeless, attacked Kaia Simonson, 63, a library assistant at the City Island branch.

Bedford was being held without bail in the Volusia County Branch Jail on Wednesday on charges of burglary with assault/battery, aggravated battery on a person using a deadly weapon and aggravated battery on an employee/community provider. 

Capri said his investigators gave him good news Wednesday — that Simonson was doing well and will recover fully from the unprovoked attack.

“The good thing I’m being told is that she is not going to lose her eye,” Capri said. “She is doing better, she is strong and there will be no permanent damage.”

Messages left for Halifax Health Medical Center officials Wednesday were not returned.

Daytona Beach police investigators said the unprovoked attack was caught on the library’s security system.

Police said Bedford, who Simonson said was a patron at the library, was seen entering the building and waving at the victim.

In the video, he headed to the children's section, entered a computer room and stared at Simonson though a glass window.

Bedford then exited the computer room and went behind the desk where Simonson was sitting. He ran up and hit her with a closed fist in the face, investigators state in a report.

Simonson slumped over her desk. Bedford stood over her and struck her in the head and face four more times while holding an object which police later said was a pair of scissors. Simonson fell to the ground, police said.

After the attack, Bedford walked away from Simonson and stood in the main area of the children’s section of the library until police arrived, a report details.

“It was a horrific attack,” Capri said. “I’m just glad that she (Simonson) survived.”

Capri said this is the first violent attack at the library, 105 E. Magnolia Ave., of which he is aware. Police have been called to the library before but mostly because of trespassers, he said.

Homeless people are known to hang around and use the library. In hotter weather, library employees have helped by allowing the indigent to come inside for water and to use the restroom, Capri said.

Incidents like Tuesday’s are hard to predict, especially since police are learning that Bedford has mental issues, the chief said.

“I’m hoping this is an isolated incident,” said Capri.

Police will not restrict the movement of people at the library but will be more aware of circumstances following the attack, Capri said.

“We will work with the county and do everything to prevent something like this from happening again,” Capri said. “We will work to ensure the safety of the employees and the public. That is a priority.”

More:Employee attacked with scissors inside Daytona Beach library

The library and the island around it remain popular with some homeless people.

Late Wednesday morning, even though the library was closed and as a steady rain fell, three self-identified homeless men were taking shelter nearby on City Island – one beneath the roof of a public restroom, and two in a picnic area.

None of them knew the stabbing suspect, and all three said the library and the park area around it are normally safe.

David Clussman said he has been homeless for about six months after living at and working for a small Holly Hill motel for the past 14 years. He said he hasn’t been inside the library recently, but knows that a lot of homeless people use the building for various things.

“They (the homeless) utilize it for a lot of reasons,” Clussman said of the library. “There’s no place to charge a phone except in the library. They use the computer system to apply for benefits. That and reading. I did a lot of reading.”

Brian Abramson, keeping out of the rain with Clussman and drawing sketches to pass the time, said only about a dozen homeless people come to City Island daily right now. The park between City Island and downtown is under construction.

“Most of the people are either in the library or they’re out here,” Abramson said. “It used to be a lot worse.”

About 100 yards away, Robert Hoffer stood under the canopy over a restroom area. He said he had made a living cleaning area bars and restaurants, but became homeless several months ago when the coronavirus pandemic closed those places down.

Hoffer agreed that the park and library are safe, but added that the streets of Daytona Beach are less safe than 40 years ago when he first moved here. He said many people with heroin or drinking addictions are now on the street.“This place has changed so much, it’s unbelievable,” Hoffer said.