ST. GEORGE – One man is in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital Wednesday after being stabbed while protecting a woman during an early morning break-in of a St. George residence. A second man was also stabbed during the incident and a third man is in police custody facing potential attempted homicide charges.

The incident began just before 4 a.m. Wednesday when 57-year-old Gregory James McClary forced his way into a residence owned by a 55-year-old woman on what police described as the 200 West block of 300 South in St. George, the St. George Police Department said in a news release issued Wednesday morning.

While McClary and the woman are considered cohabitants under statute, police said in the statement, they are not currently living together.

McClary went to the woman’s bedroom and held a knife to her throat, police said.

A 35-year-old white male and a 40-year-old white male, one being a house guest and the other a tenant, intervened in an attempt to protect the woman. During the course of the struggle the men were cut with the knife.

“A 911 call was placed at that time and officers were on scene in less than 2 minutes,” the Police Department said in the statement. “The first officer on scene saw people leaving the residence and was able to detain Mr. McClary. Officers were able to provide first aid to the victims, controlling bleeding from one victim’s neck as medical was in route.”

The 35-year-old man was transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George with potentially life-threatening wounds to his head, neck and leg, police said. He was taken into surgery, is currently recovering in the Intensive Care Unit and is speaking with investigators.

The 40-year-old man was treated at the scene of the incident for a minor laceration, according to police. The woman did not sustain any injuries.

Police said all of the individuals involved in the incident have been cooperating with investigators.

“There is no threat to the public, the parties involved in this incident are known to each other and the victims were specifically targeted; it was not a random act of violence,” the Police Department said.

McClary is currently being interviewed, as are the victims and witnesses and police said there is evidence to support McClary’s arrest.

“Although exact charges are yet to be determined, they likely will include aggravated residential burglary (domestic violence), up to 3 counts of aggravated assault, and attempted homicide,” the police statement said. “There may be additional or variations of these charges.”

This is a developing investigation and information will be updated as it is made available.

According to Utah Court records, McClary was charged with assault and criminal mischief in December 2013, but those charges were later dismissed without prejudice. Six days later, the woman involved in Wednesday morning’s incident filed for a protective order against McClary which was issued Jan. 3, 2014.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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