An employee of the Store 24 in Harvard Square was arrested for allegedly attacking two people outside the store on Saturday night.

Russell T. Yeager, 34, a Somerville resident, allegedly stabbed one man in the neck and reportedly slashed a woman on the hand when she tried to intervene.

Yeager was charged with attempted murder as well as assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. As of yesterday afternoon, he was still in the custody of Cambridge Police, pending $25,000 bail.

In an interview with The Crimson yesterday, Cambridge Police spokesperson Frank Pasquarello identified the victims as Robert Gayner and Shana Dirke.

No other information about the victims was available at press time.

Gayner was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital for emergency surgery and is currently in stable condition. Drike was treated for her wound at Mount Auburn Hospital, police said.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that Drike has been released.

Although yesterday afternoon police were still unsure what provoked the incident, Pasquarello said that it began with a confrontation in the store.

"There was some kind of disturbance inside the Store 24 which spilled out onto the street, and allegedly the suspect pulled a knife and slashed the other man on the neck area," he said.

Pasquarello also said that Yeager apparently had the knife on his person.

Police arrived at the scene at approximately 10 p.m., by which time a sizable crowd had begun to gather.

A Harvard graduate student told the Crimson last night that he was walking up Mass. Ave. at around 9:55 p.m. on Saturday.

"As I was passing by the entrance to the Coop I heard someone screaming 'get an ambulance,'" he said.

The student said that as he continued walking up Mass Ave. he saw a man sitting on one of the benches.

"He was a big guy, a tall guy. He was bleeding from his mouth and also from his neck," he said. "He looked almost puzzled... like he didn't know what hit him."