Detectives seeking to identify man who stabbed teen at Colbert middle school

Spokane County sheriff’s detectives are asking for help identifying a man who stabbed a teenage boy at a middle school in Colbert last month.

The sheriff’s office said in a news release that three minors were going to hang out near the playfield at Mountainside Middle School in the early morning of May 23, between 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. When one teen realized he had forgotten his cellphone in his car, he ran back to retrieve it.

As he opened the car door, a man approached, shoved the boy into the driver’s seat and began hitting and stabbing the boy before running away into a wooded area, the sheriff’s office said. Surveillance footage shared by the sheriff’s office shows the suspect following the boy through the school parking lot moments before the stabbing.

The boy was stabbed three times – once in the arm and twice in the abdomen – but his injuries were not life-threatening, and he did not receive medical treatment until later that evening after reporting the assault, the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect was described as “older, possibly an adult,” with facial hair, wearing khaki pants and a gray hoodie. Detectives believe he had been walking east on Day Mount Spokane Road and fled to the west of the school.

“The involved juveniles were unable to provide any additional information regarding the suspect or why he assaulted the victim,” the news release states.

Detectives are asking any nearby residents or businesses with security cameras to review their footage for potential sightings of the suspect between 12:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. on May 23. Anyone with information regarding the assault can call Detective Marc Melville at (509) 477-3325.