LEBANON — Police are calling upon the public to help identify an at-large suspect who police said was involved in a stabbing at Colburn Park on Thursday morning.
Lebanon police warned the public not to approach the suspect, who was recorded by video camera fleeing the scene, but instead to call 911.
The call for public assistance came after police responded shortly before 9 a.m. to a report of an assault at Colburn Park, according to a news release from Lebanon police early Thursday afternoon.
When officers arrived they located a victim who “had sustained a stab wound,” the news release said. The Lebanon Fire Department provided medical aid and transported the victim to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for treatment.
Surveillance footage of the scene shows a suspect, wearing a hooded gray sweatshirt, shorts and holding what appears to be a white plastic bag, fleeing the area immediately following the assault, police said.
By late afternoon police issued a news update reporting they had received additional information “confirming that the person of interest in this incident was seen walking along Interstate 89 southbound near Exit 18.”
Colburn Park was closed on Thursday morning while Lebanon police investigated the crime scene. The park was reopened later in the day.
Lebanon Police Chief Phil Roberts confirmed via email the victim was located and treated behind the firehouse under construction across the street from the park.
The site, where a new firehouse is currently under construction, is adjacent to Headrest, a residence for people affected by substance use disorders.
On Thursday morning two police officers and two cruisers were stationed on Church Street outside Headrest as yellow police tape cordoned off a sheltered sitting area. There was a tarp over the ground in front of the property and what appeared to be bloody towels were under a sheltered sitting area next to the house.
Construction workers at the firehouse told Valley News reporters that a man with bloody wounds was observed coming from the direction of Colburn Park down Church Street toward Headrest.
The city asked that people avoid the park “until further notice to allow law enforcement to work safely and effectively.”
There was a heavy police presence and the park was taped off.
Two police tents were erected inside the park at the south entrance under which officers gathered as light rain fell. Police placed trash can lids over blood deposits on the walkway just inside the south entrance to prevent them from being washed away by the rain.
An officer could be seen moving through the park with a dog that had its nose to the ground.
Police launched a drone with an infrared camera that flew over the park and surrounding vicinity.
As of about 12:30 p.m., the New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes Unit vehicle was on the scene. State troopers were observed photographing the scene and the blood stains under the trash can lids.
A Grafton County sheriff’s deputy also showed up at the park.
Due to the ongoing investigation and the weather, the Parks and Recreation Department relocated the mid-day Thursday’s in the Park featuring Absolutely Magic with Alejandro’s Olde Tyme Magik Showe to the Carter Community Building Association.
The Lebanon Farmers’ Market, which normally takes place in the park on Thursday afternoons, was canceled.
Lebanon police ask anyone who recognizes the individual in the images or who may have observed any suspicious activity in or around Colburn Park to call 911 or contact the Lebanon police at 603-448-1212.
Information or tips can also be sent through the police tip line at 603-448-CLUE or online at LebanonNH.gov/CLUE.
