La Bella of Freeburg: Resident Stabbed at Breakfast - IL
He had not been punched.
The attack happened October 13, 2025, during lunch at La Bella of Freeburg, a long-term care facility in Freeburg, Illinois. Federal inspectors cited the facility following a complaint investigation completed October 21, finding that the facility had failed to protect residents from abuse, a deficiency rated at the level of actual harm.
The victim, identified in inspection records only as Resident 2, was sitting at his usual table in the dining room when Resident 3 approached and struck him. The blow was fast enough, and the situation disorienting enough, that Resident 2 did not initially understand what had happened to him. When a surveyor spoke with him on October 21, he described it plainly: "I was sitting here and this guy I didn't know clocked me. I thought he punched me, but he used a knife. I only saw his fist. I fell out of my chair. He's gone now."
The surveyor asked Resident 2 whether he felt safe. "I guess so," he said.
A certified nursing assistant identified as V6 was at a nearby table helping another resident when the attack happened. She heard Resident 2 scream, "My eye, my eye." She ran over. By the time she reached him, Resident 3 was already walking away from the table with what she described as a glazed look in his eyes. As she moved toward Resident 2, Resident 3 turned and said, "Get out of my face," followed by an expletive. She stayed with Resident 2, checking his vitals, while other staff followed Resident 3 out of the dining room.
The registered nurse on duty, identified as V5, was in the Director of Nursing's office when she heard someone yell, "Help me, help me." She came out to find Resident 3 already leaving the dining room, staff walking alongside him, and other staff already on the floor with Resident 2. Resident 2 was on the ground. The nurse described a very small laceration under his right eye, on the cheekbone, with a small amount of blood. Staff laid him flat, started neurological checks and vitals, and eventually helped him up. Both residents were transported to a hospital, Resident 3 first, then Resident 2. The vitals and neurological checks on Resident 2 came back normal.
The Director of Nursing, V2, was in her office at the time of the attack. She heard someone cry out, "Ouch, ouch," and ran into the dining room. She found Resident 2 on the floor, his head resting against the foot pedals of his wheelchair. She asked him what happened, and he told her, "That guy clocked me." Staff laid him flat and began checking his vitals and neurological status.
The Director of Nursing then went to check on Resident 3. He had been moved away from the other residents by a CNA. She described his state in the interview with inspectors: "He was talking crazy. He was saying his wife was cheating on him and his son was stealing from him. He was irate." Staff kept him separated from other residents until EMS arrived and transported him.
An LPN identified as V8 told inspectors she had been walking back into the dining room during lunch when she heard Resident 2 yelling for help, saying his eye hurt. She found the Director of Nursing already with Resident 2 and other staff keeping Resident 3 away from the rest of the residents. She started vitals and neurological checks, then called and received orders to send both residents out.
The certified nursing assistant who had been closest to the attack said Resident 3 had never acted this way before.
That detail, offered plainly in the inspection record, sits at the center of what federal inspectors found troubling about what happened at La Bella of Freeburg that October morning. A man was stabbed in the face with a knife at a dining room table, surrounded by other residents eating breakfast, in a facility that had a written abuse policy affirming, in its own language, that it had "attempted to establish a resident-sensitive and secure environment."
The facility's abuse policy, last updated December 13, 2023, states that the facility "prohibits mistreatment, neglect or abuse of its residents." It describes the purpose of the policy as assuring that the facility is "doing all that is within our control to prevent occurrences of mistreatment, neglect or abuse."
Resident 2, sitting in his wheelchair at breakfast, did not know the man who stabbed him. He saw a fist. He felt the blow land under his eye. He fell to the floor and lay there with his head against the foot pedals of his chair, telling staff he thought he had been punched, until someone explained to him what had actually happened.
When a federal surveyor sat with him eight days after the attack and asked whether he felt safe living at La Bella of Freeburg, Resident 2 paused, then offered the most honest answer available to him.
"I guess so," he said.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for La Bella of Freeburg from 2025-10-21 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: Official federal inspection data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Editorial process: AI-synthesized regulatory data, reviewed for accuracy by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: June 24, 2026 · Our methodology
La Bella of Freeburg in FREEBURG, IL was cited for violations during a health inspection on October 21, 2025.
The attack happened October 13, 2025, during lunch at La Bella of Freeburg, a long-term care facility in Freeburg, Illinois.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.