LAKE CITY, Fla. — Police in North Florida are looking for a man they said stabbed a victim multiple times in the head and neck with a pitchfork, authorities said.
According to a news release from the Lake City Police Department, Ryan Paul McCartney, 36, of Lake City, is facing attempted second-degree murder charges stemming from Monday’s incident.
Police responded to a call at about 8:25 a.m. EDT after receiving a report about a 49-year-old man stabbed by a pitchfork, WJAX-TV reported.
Police said the victim was suffering from multiple stab wounds to the head and neck. Officers rendered aid until emergency medical services personnel arrived and transported him to an area trauma unit.
The victim and witnesses at the scene told police that McCartney had become upset during a verbal altercation and allegedly threw the pitchfork at the man, WJAX reported. Witnesses added that McCartney then fled the scene on foot.
A woman identifying herself as the victim’s boyfriend responding to the police department’s Facebook post said the man remains hospitalized. He has undergone hours of surgery to “repair his esophagus, surrounding soft tissue” and his ear, she said.
“McCartney is considered dangerous and should not be approached,” police said in the Facebook post.
