SAFFORD – Authorities were dispatched to a residence east of Safford last Thursday just after midnight in response to a report of assault with an axe. When a sheriff’s deputy arrived on the scene he was met by a 50-year-old man, who came out of a camp trailer covered in blood. The man told the deputy that he needed some water and walked over to a garden hose for a drink. The man reportedly had a gash on his forehead approximately 3 to 4 inches long.
The man said that he had been asleep when he heard a knock at his door. He said that he thought he was dreaming so it took a little while for him to wake up and realize that somebody had knocked on his door. When the victim opened his door, he said the alleged assailant was outside on a bicycle. The assailant asked the victim why there had been investigators at his house earlier. The victim apparently replied that there had not been anyone at his residence. The victim said that the assailant then struck him in the head with a hatchet. The victim retreated inside his trailer and called 911. The victim said that he knew the other man through mutual friends.
The victim was transported to Mount Graham Regional Medical Center for treatment.
Other deputies arrived to help search for the alleged attacker. They located an address for the man and went to the home of the alleged attacker but did not find him there. An Attempt to Locate (ATL) was put out for the alleged assailant.
