By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A 17-year-old boy was stabbed in the chest during a fight in Wal-Mart’s parking lot and an 18-year-old Onalaska man has been arrested.
The Chehalis Police Department reports this morning the condition of the victim and extent of his injuries are unknown at this time.
Police say the incident began to unfold around 9 p.m. on Thursday when officers were dispatched to two males fighting but when officers arrived they were gone. Witnesses described a brief physical altercation and said the two departed in separate vehicles, according to the police department.
Then police were advised of a 17-year-old male who was seeking medical treatment at Providence Centralia Hospital for a stab wound to the chest, according to a press release from the Chehalis Police Department.
Officers arriving to the hospital spoke to witnesses who were there, but were unable to talk with the victim because he was being prepared for transport to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the press release.
Department spokesperson Linda Bailey states police located the suspect’s vehicle at a home on Brockway Road and impounded it. The suspect, Jose Chagollan, was arrested for first-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Bailey.
The name and hometown of the victim was not released, but Bailey indicates they will provide further information about his condition when it becomes available.
Chagollan is tentatively scheduled to go before a judge at 4 p.m. today, in Lewis County Superior Court.