Police got a call around 2:30 a.m. Sunday from a woman who lives in the 800 block of North Flower Street, said police Lt. Dave Parker. She said a neighbor was at her door and she thought he maybe had had a heart attack. He needed help.
Police and medics arrived. Medics determined he had suffered multiple stab wounds to his back, Parker said.
Police say the injured man, Thomas Atkinson Jr., who is 56, had been drinking in his residence with a woman and two other men, both in their 20s. He lives in the 700 block of Flower. One of the men then started stabbing and punching him, Parker said. The woman who was present told police he didn't fight back, but just took a defensive posture. Atkinson was taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery for his wounds. He's expected to live, but remains hospitalized, Parker said.
The two young men took off. One of them is Richard Smith, 21, now wanted on charges of second-degree assault and fourth-degree assault, Parker said.
There's been no explanation for what set the younger man off, Parker said.
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