Man, 18, charged in stabbing of St. John's University student outside his White Bear Lake home
WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. — A 20-year-old St. John's University student is seriously hurt and an 18-year-old man is facing criminal charges after a stabbing early Saturday morning in White Bear Lake.
Police say they were called to Southwood Drive near Hazel Street just before 2 a.m., where officers found the victim — later identified by family as Mason Fike — on the ground suffering from several stab wounds near his home.
The suspect, who lives nearby, was arrested soon after the attack.
Fike was brought to Regions Hospital for emergency surgery. He suffered stab wounds to his bladder, colon, left kidney, small intestine and spleen, according to the criminal complaint filed on Monday by the Ramsey County Attorney's Office.
Details from the criminal complaint
Officers said a woman, Fike's friend, was putting pressure on "a large wound in his lower abdomen" when they arrived at the scene, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman told police she was on a walk with Fike when he "yelled at some kids riding bicycles, telling them it was past their bedtimes."
She said the suspect then came out of his house and began to yell at them, the complaint states, and Fike walked over to confront him. She told police the suspect threw a punch at Fike before stabbing him.
The suspect's sister told police she was watching TV when she heard yelling. She said her brother "stormed outside" and started arguing with someone. She then saw Fike and her brother "on each other and there was blood everywhere."
She said her brother then got in his car and fled despite her pleas not to, according to the complaint. She told investigators her brother carried a black pocket knife, which officers found in the yard.
Police eventually found the suspect, covered in blood, about a mile south at Spruce Park.
The complaint states that while the suspect was being held in the Ramsey County Jail, he asked someone in a recorded phone call, "Is that dude all right," to which the caller replied, "I don't think so."
The suspect told the caller Fike and his friend "were drunk and causing a scene," and insisted he acted in self-defense, adding, "I do apologize for doing that though." He also urged the caller to stay quiet about the case.
If convicted, the suspect could face up to 20 years in prison.
Victim suffered wounds to multiple organs
Fike's family says he is preparing for his senior year at the university. In his freshman year, he was an offensive lineman for the Johnnies football team.
Funds have been pouring in to support his family, with more than $45,000 raised as of Monday evening. Fike is still hospitalized as of Monday evening.