SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The Spokane County Sheriff's Office arrested two teens allegedly involved in a violent assault in North Spokane County on Thursday night.
According to a press release from the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, the arrest was made by Spokane County Sheriff's detectives in the Major Crimes Division.
The first suspect was arrested for second degree assault after the attack, according to Spokane County Sheriff's Corporal Mark Gregory. The main weapon in the attack was a machete, which resulted in a male teenager suffering minor injuries, while another teenager was hospitalized with serious wounds, Gregory said.
The first incident took place on Sept. 21, 2019 around 11 p.m. when deputies responded to a report of an assault and possible robbery. Multiple teenagers were stabbed, according to Gregory.
Upon further investigation, deputies learned that the victim and witness had just begun to date, according to Gregory. The witness had previously dated the older of the two suspects but had decided to keep it a secret because they were afraid how the suspect would react due to his violent history, he said.
The group was composed of the 14 and 17-year-old suspects, the witness and one additional friend.
The group was allegedly heading to the 17-year-old suspect's mother's home when he pulled over and everyone exited the car, according to Gregory. Soon after, the 17-year-old suspect allegedly attacked the victim with a machete and was assisted by the 14-year-old suspect, who hit the victim in the back of the head, Gregory said.
According to Gregory, the victim then wielded his own knife to defend himself and told the witness to run, who escaped into a nearby field. The 14-year-old suspect, who was now holding the machete, pursued the victim and threatened to kill him.
The victim fled into a nearby field and the two suspects, accompanied by two other teenagers, fled the scene, Gregory said.
The two suspects later went to the hospital, and the 17-year-old suspect proceeded to call law enforcement, telling them that his friend had been stabbed by the victim, Gregory said.
Shortly thereafter, the 17-year-old suspect was arrested at the hospital and booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center for second-degree assault. The 14-year-old suspect was not arrested due to the severity of his injuries, Gregory said.
The 14-year-old suspect was later arrested upon further investigation for first-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault, and felony harassment threats to kill, according to Gregory.
The investigation is ongoing.