Police: Man transported to hospital after being stabbed by ex-girlfriend in Washington City

Stock image of Washington City Police patrol vehicles | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A man was transported to the hospital on Monday with a serious injury to his arm following a stabbing reported in front of an apartment complex in Washington City.

Hunting knife allegedly used in stabbing on Red Stone Road in Washington City, Utah, Dec. 6, 2021 | Photo courtesy of the Washington City Police Department, St. George News

Officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Red Stone Road on a call involving a man who was stabbed in front of one of the apartment complexes by an alleged assailant who fled immediately after the incident.

Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams told St. George News that officers arrived to find the man bleeding profusely from a stab wound to the inside of his arm, where it appeared the knife struck a soft tissue area. Officers quickly applied a tourniquet to slow the bleeding until emergency medical personnel arrived.

Williams said gauging from the amount of blood found at the scene, the wound to the man’s arm appeared to be “pretty serious.”

Once the ambulance arrived on scene, the man was transported to St. George Regional Hospital for evaluation and treatment.

Officers learned from several witnesses the man was stabbed by a woman, later identified as Lauren Melissa Loper, of North Las Vegas, who was the victim’s ex-girlfriend, Williams said.

He said the man was on Red Stone with his current girlfriend when the altercation took place, adding the suspect was also in the area on a job search, which is when they ran into each other and a verbal altercation ensued.

The argument then escalated to the point that Loper allegedly lunged forward and stabbed the man before fleeing from the scene in a blue Toyota Camry. The injured man’s girlfriend made the call to 911.

During a canvass of the area, Williams said, officers were unable to locate the suspect, which is when a broadcast was sent out to surrounding agencies to be on the lookout for the suspect and the vehicle.

Shortly thereafter, the Toyota was spotted heading east on state Route 9 and was stopped in Hurricane. Once notified, officers working the scene in Washington City responded to the traffic stop on SR-9 to speak to the suspect. There, authorities recovered the knife used in the alleged assault, which turned out to be a 12-inch hunting-style knife.

Williams said Loper was cooperative while speaking to the officers. Shortly thereafter, she was transported and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility facing second-degree aggravated assault, as well as third-degree aggravated assault and a misdemeanor drug charge.

The chief said the incident was resolved quickly with the help of officers in Hurricane who immediately responded and conducted the traffic stop when they identified the suspect’s vehicle.

Ed. Note: A new Utah law generally prohibits the release of arrest booking photos until after a conviction is obtained. 

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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