A Planet Fitness employee was stabbed after a banned customer returned to the location, say police.
WYNCOTE, Pa. — A midday stabbing at a Planet Fitness turned a routine commercial strip in Cheltenham Township into an emergency scene after police said a banned customer attacked an employee inside the gym.
The April 2 attack happened at the Planet Fitness at 1000 South Easton Road, a Wyncote location used by local customers during ordinary daytime hours. Police said the injured worker was found with multiple stab wounds and taken to an area trauma center with life-threatening injuries. The suspect, 28-year-old Davier Massey of Philadelphia, was arrested nearby and later charged with attempted murder and related offenses.
The scene that afternoon was far removed from the normal rhythm of check-ins, workouts and staff greetings. Officers and emergency medical crews arrived at about 12:33 p.m. after a report of a stabbing. The gym closed after the attack, and local reports described people arriving to find that the business was shut because of an unexpected emergency. One gym-goer told a local television station that the news felt unreal. Another said the employees at the gym were nice and uplifting, comments that reflected the shock among people who knew the location as a familiar neighborhood business rather than a crime scene.
Police said the violence followed an earlier decision to ban Massey from the gym. Local reports said the ban was tied to an unpaid bill and was issued April 1, one day before the stabbing. Investigators said Massey returned on April 2, left and then came back again. During the second return, police said, he caused a disturbance and became involved in an altercation with an employee. Authorities have not publicly identified the employee or said whether he was working at the front desk, walking the gym floor or handling another duty when the confrontation began.
The attack carried consequences beyond the walls of the gym. A worker was taken to a trauma center, a public business closed, customers were turned away and police began a criminal investigation in the middle of a busy commercial area. Cheltenham Township police said the preliminary investigation showed the victim was an employee and the person who stabbed him had previously been banned from the business. Officials did not report any other injuries. They also did not say how many customers or staff members were inside at the time of the stabbing, a detail that could help show how widely the attack disrupted the workplace.
Planet Fitness issued a statement after the incident, saying it was saddened by what happened at the Cheltenham location. “Our thoughts are with the team member as they recover,” the company said. The company also said it appreciated quick action from local law enforcement and that the franchise owner was fully supporting the investigation. The statement did not offer a detailed account of the employee’s condition, and the company did not publicly identify the worker. The franchise structure also meant the local owner, not only the national brand, had a role in responding to investigators and employees.
Massey was taken into custody a short distance from the gym. Police charged him with criminal attempt murder of the first degree, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault, terroristic threats, criminal mischief, harassment and disorderly conduct. Bail was denied, and he was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. The charges are accusations at this stage of the case. Police have not publicly released a full motive beyond the reported unpaid bill and ban, and they have not said whether Massey made any statements after his arrest.
The employee’s name has remained private, and officials have released only limited information about his recovery. Early police information described his injuries as life-threatening at the time he was transported. Later reports said he was recovering in the hospital, but no detailed medical update was made public in the reports reviewed for this article. Authorities also have not released whether the weapon was recovered, whether surveillance video captured the altercation or whether written witness statements were taken from gym members. Those gaps leave the public picture centered on the basic sequence police described.
The case also sits within the routine path of the Montgomery County court system. Early reports listed a preliminary hearing for April 16, where prosecutors could begin presenting the evidence behind the charges. Public news reports reviewed for this update did not confirm the hearing’s outcome. Future court records are expected to show whether the case moved forward, whether any charges changed and when Massey is next due in court.
For now, the South Easton Road gym is known for a violent interruption that began with an unpaid bill dispute and ended with a worker hospitalized. As of April 27, police had identified Massey as the arrested suspect, but the employee’s identity, full recovery status and the complete account of the altercation remained undisclosed.
Author note: Last updated April 27, 2026.