SALEM, Ore. -- Chuck Boyce never saw it coming. As he puzzled over the gripes from an agitated auction attendee his throat was slashed.

Boyce, a Salem auctioneer who was attacked and stabbed in the throat while calling a timber auction on Tuesday, recalled being struck in his head as he talked with the upset attendee.

"The next thing I know … the guy's arm was coming around my forehead, pulling my neck back and cutting my throat,” Boyce said.

He claims the public story isn’t accurate. His interaction with Jeremiah Thomasson, the 22-year-old in custody for the stabbing, began with a simple exchange, according to Boyce.

 Details: Suspect arrested in auctioneer stabbing

"(Thomasson) came up to me and he says, 'I gotta get going.' And I says, ‘OK, what are you trying to tell me?’ And then he just walked away and never answered," Boyce said.

Thomasson came up and said the same thing twice more, growing more agitated each time, Boyce said.

Marion County Sheriff’s Office has publicized a version of events that claims Thomasson stabbed Boyce over a missed bid on a $2 item.

"Never. Never. Never missed his bid; he never made a bid," Boyce said.

Boyce claims he repeatedly told Thomasson to just leave. Witnesses claimed Thomasson was swearing repeatedly.

Boyce admits he made a comment about it and moments later he was attacked.

According to a Marion County probable cause statement, Boyce suffered severe injuries to his throat and neck. A small muscle in his neck was cut, his trachea was nicked and his anterior jugular vein was severed.

When Boyce was cut, he didn't realize the extent of his injury. It wasn't until he saw the amount of blood and the looks on the faces of those around that he focused on staying conscious in hopes of staying alive.

"I think that I wanted to make sure to myself that I was aware of everything that was going on around me to assure myself that I was going to be OK," he recalled.

Through the quick actions of those nearby and the responding EMTs, Boyce survived the assault. 

Fifteen staples now hold his neck together.

Boyce said he plans to return to the auction stage on Tuesday, one week from the day he was stabbed. He said he refused to be anyone’s victim.

"Am I going to be looking over my shoulder all the time every time I do something else?” he asked. “No. So I just gotta get down there and face it.”