Background: Security footage of the attack on DJ Duncan Allen by Peyton Lathan (KPTV). Inset: Duncan Allen in the hospital (KPTV).
A DJ working at the Casa Diablo Vegan Strip Club in Portland, Oregon, was unexpectedly attacked by one of the dancers working at the club. The incident, which occurred on December 8, was captured by security cameras at the establishment.
The victim, identified as Duncan Allen, was stabbed from behind with a knife by the dancer named Peyton Lathan, aged 29. Following the attack, Lathan fled the scene but was later apprehended by authorities. She was found hiding in nearby bushes with two knives, one of which had blood on the tip. Lathan has been charged with two counts of assault and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.
The security footage from the club shows the moment of the attack. In the video, Lathan can be seen standing near Allen, who was taken by surprise by the sudden violence. Allen described the shocking incident, stating that he felt like he had been struck by a heavy force before realizing that he had been stabbed by the dancer from behind.
The attack left Allen with a collapsed lung that nearly cost him his life. He reportedly said that paramedics told him he was just minutes from drowning in his own blood. After making his way into the club’s kitchen, several employees, including other dancers, came to Allen’s aid until first responders arrived. Allen told NBC affiliate KGW that the girls who helped him were “instrumental to my survival.”
“I was fading in and out of like consciousness because of my blood loss and oxygen loss. So, everything around me was getting blurry, everything was getting white,” Allen told the station.
Allen underwent several surgeries to repair the damage at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center and was expected to make a full recovery, according to a GoFundMe page started to cover his medical expenses.
According to an affidavit obtained by OregonLive.com, Lathan told police she was “pleading insanity” and after she was arrested she accused Allen of being a drug dealer, which he denied.
Not only did security cameras capture the alleged attack, but they also showed Lathan in her dressing room moments before. Johnny Diablo Zukle, the club’s owner, told KPTV, “She was always a little off, weird, but she never exhibited signs of violent tendencies. She definitely had a mental health crisis.”
But Zukle and friends of Allen suspect that Lathan’s attack was premeditated, noting that she allegedly had one knife up each of her sleeves before she struck Allen.
“I think she intended to kill someone, and it just happened to be Duncan, and when I think about it, when she was in the dressing room for about 10 minutes, she seemed like she was possessed by a demon,” Zukle said.
Lathan is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center without bail.
