Teen arrested after wedding-day stabbing

COLUMBUS -- A 16-year-old Columbus boy was in custody today in Madison in connection with an early-morning stabbing Sunday of another 16-year-old city teen after a fight broke out at a local wedding.

The suspect was arrested later Sunday morning for attempted manslaughter and use of a weapon to commit a felony. The victim was treated at Columbus Community Hospital for several stab wounds and released Sunday.

The suspect was arrested after being found hiding in a mobile home at a mobile home park on the eastern edge of Columbus, Columbus Police Capt. Todd Thalken said this morning.

The suspect, who is not being identified because of his age, was scheduled to appear in Platte County Court today for a bond review hearing. He has been held in custody at the Northeast Nebraska Juvenile Services Center in Madison since his arrest.

The victim also is not being identified because of his age.

Thalken said the fight broke out about 12:30 a.m. Sunday at a wedding at the Knights of Columbus, 3115 Sixth St., when an altercation erupted between the suspect and the victim.

One person bumped into another, drinks were upended, and the disagreement spilled out into the K.C. Hall parking lot, the captain said. The suspect and the victim were not acquainted, he said.

The fight quickly escalated outside and, when officers began arriving, the combatants and bystanders scattered in all directions, Thalken said. The victim didn’t even realize he’d been stabbed several times until he was leaving the scene in a vehicle with a family member, he said.

The victim then was driven directly to the hospital, with medical personnel then notifying officers of the stabbing, Thalken said.

Officers from the Platte County Sheriff’s Department and Nebraska State Patrol assisted in the investigation.