Police to charge one combatant in Tractor Supply knife fight
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Although they haven’t released the name of the individual, Atmore police announced last week that one person will be charged with felony assault in connection with the April 23 knife fight at Tractor Supply.
Both combatants have undergone several surgical procedures but reportedly are on the road to recovery. The two, both blood-covered and critically wounded, were taken in separate ambulances to Atmore Community Hospital, where they were stabilized before being flown to different trauma centers.
The most critically wounded individual, who was reportedly stabbed at least four times, was found in the Tractor Supply’s Lindbergh Avenue parking lot, “bleeding profusely.” Police, who administered preliminary first aid, said he suffered a punctured lung and bruising across both eyes and cheeks. At last report, he also remained paralyzed below his waist.
The other injured man, who was just inside Tractor Supply’s door when police and emergency medical personnel arrived, will be charged with first-degree assault “once he becomes ambulatory,” police said.
“When officers arrived on the scene, one of the male subjects was laying just inside the Tractor Supply entry doors, bleeding profusely,” said APD Sgt. Darrell McMann. “Officers and employees provided first aid and applied a tourniquet to slow the blood loss.”
Investigators were able to view surveillance camera feed which “clearly showed who was involved and their actions,” he added.
District Attorney Steve Billy reportedly viewed the video footage and made the determination that the injured party found inside Tractor Supply was the primary aggressor.
Two other males, both of whom had “a large amount of blood on their clothing,” were detained by police and taken to APD headquarters in the immediate aftermath of the incident. McMann said city detectives questioned both individuals, then released them.