Tulsa police say an investigation into an assault at an east Tulsa apartment complex became something much more serious when they found a victim bleeding heavily as the result of a machete wound.
Capt. Eric Nelson says police initially received an emergency call about an assault at the Virginia Lee Apartments near East 21st Street and South Memorial Drive around 11:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Police say the victim, a 48-year-old man, was in and out of consciousness on the floor of his apartment when they arrived.
Nelson says witnesses pointed them to a man who was staying with the stabbing victim. They told police the two had been in an argument prior to the stabbing and that the man fled the complex after the stabbing.
Police located him near East 5th Place and South Memorial Drive.
"Because of the way the victim was, he wasn't able to really communicate with us and tell us what happened. We were able to find that individual and take him downtown for interviews," said Nelson.
Through the course of their investigation, police determined a large machete was the weapon used in the assault.
The victim was transported to the hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries, according to police.
At close to 4:30 a.m., the person of interest was released pending further investigation.
Police credit the victim's neighbors for coming to his aid and providing details about what transpired Tuesday night.
"The citizens that called us did a great job. They saw that somebody was hurt and they picked up the phone and called us. Don't expect them to go and try to find out exactly what happened. That's our job. So we have no problem doing that," Nelson said.
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