Blood trail leads cops to site of assault

A 42-year-old man, who was beaten Thursday afternoon in Mead, left a trail of blood from an apartment to a nearby liquor store where he asked for help.

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies were called to the store, 12124 N. Market St., about 2:50 p.m. The man was bleeding profusely from head wounds and said he had been stabbed, sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said.

Deputies discovered that the man had stumbled from an apartment on the northwest corner of Market and Third Avenue. They entered the building to make sure there were no other victims.

“We followed the blood trail and ended up kicking out the door,” Deputy Bob Sola said.

The victim, who was not named, was taken to a local hospital with serious head lacerations, two broken arms and a broken finger, Reagan said.

A person who was in the apartment with the victim said the stabbing was done by a third man, Reagan said. The witness said the attacker also hit the victim with a baseball bat or stick.

Thursday evening, detectives had not found the attacker or the weapons used in the crime.