An Ashmont man is lucky to be alive after sustaining multiple stab wounds just after midnight on Friday.
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Emergency services rushed to a Marshall Street unit in response to reports at about 12.10am of a man being stabbed in the neck.
Police and paramedics arrived to find the 44-year-old man suffering a stab wound to the neck and three to the shoulder.
Police said the victim was lucky to be alive based on the stab to his neck.
“It's a serious attack, he missed the spinal cord and carotid artery by millimetres,” Riverina Police District's Inspector Darren Cloake said.
Police said the 44-year-old was in a Marshall Street unit when a visitor, who police said was intoxicated, was asked to leave.
It was then the visitor picked up a knife and stabbed the 44-year-old.
The victim was treated by paramedics at the scene for his wounds, to his left side, and taken to Wagga Base Hospital in a serious condition.
The 44-year-old male was set to undergo emergency surgery on Friday.
Wagga Police continue to seek a 46-year-old male they believe was responsible for the attack.
He is described as standing 175cm to 180cm tall with a thin build and of Caucasian appearance.
He has a fair complexion, brown cropped hair and blue-green eyes, with a small tattoo underneath his left eye.
Inspector Cloake said “we believe both the victim and offender were known to each other”.
“Some of his personal belongings were inside the unit, so it is not a random attack, but certainly a relationship between them has been established so they are known to each other,” he said.
Inspector Cloake said the attacker was a frequent occupier and resident of places in Wagga – mostly Ashmont, Tolland and Mount Austin.
“[He] has committed violent attacks in the past,” he said.
“Certainly we keep tabs on him and his localities and his associates.”
Police investigations surrounding the circumstances of the incident are continuing.
“[It’s] hard to tell where the knife had come from, but that’s part of the investigation,” Inspector Cloake said.
“We’re fortunate that a lot of the time this type of serious offence doesn’t take place.
“As much as we do attempt to minimise the harm to the community, in this case we’ve been fortunate that there’s a good chance the male will recover and hopefully we can find the person pretty quickly.”
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Wagga Police Station on 6922 2599 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.