LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City, Missouri, man has been sentenced to eight years and four months in prison for trying to kill a Kansas homeless shelter employee by slashing his throat.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 23-year-old Christopher McCay was sentenced in Douglas County after pleading guilty in January to attempted first-degree murder.

He admitted that in March 2014 he used a steak knife from the Lawrence Community Shelter’s kitchen and stabbed Robert Shaner. The then 46-year-old underwent emergency surgery for injuries to his neck and left hand.

McCay was working as a volunteer cook in the shelter’s kitchen and also had been a guest there. Under the sentence, McCay also must register as a violent offender for 15 years after his eventual release and complete 36 months of post-release supervision.