Stabbing fight with screwdriver broken up by police

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Police said they broke up an altercation between two men fighting with a screwdriver and fists outside a South Salt Lake mini mart Wednesday night.

The men's puncture wounds were minor, but police said the whole incident was confusing and the two men aren't cooperating.

A Joint Criminal Apprehension Team officer was patrolling the area when he noticed the fight outside the mini mart at 310 E. 3300 South around 10:30 p.m.

The officer witnessed one of the two Hispanic men, both in their 20s, throw the screwdriver away before trying to run, and both men were apprehended, South Salt Lake Police Sgt. Mikal Wersland said.

The man holding the screwdriver had a deep laceration to one of his eyes. Police were treating him at the scene and planned to transport him to a nearby hospital before booking him in Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault.

The other man, who police were calling the victim, had superficial wounds to his chest, arm and abdomen from the screwdriver, Wersland said.

Police were trying to interview both men, but neither was cooperating.

It doesn't appear to have been a gang-related fight, police said. It's unknown whether the two men know each other or what they were fighting about.

— Lana Groves