Man is sent to area trauma center after being stabbed in the back, Centralia police say

A Chehalis man was arrested on Thursday after allegedly stabbing another man during a dispute behind an area business in Centralia.

About 11:30 a.m., Centralia police were dispatched to reports of two men fighting in the back parking lot of Rite Aid on Harrison Avenue.

When police arrived, they saw one man walking away from the scene while the other stayed behind, bleeding heavily from his back.

Officers and responding aid crews from the Riverside Fire Authority and an ambulance company were able to stop the bleeding, and the victim was transported from the scene. He was later airlifted to a trauma hospital in Tacoma for further treatment, according to police.

Centralia officers detained the suspect, who was identified as a 28-year-old Chehalis resident. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the Centralia Police Department at 360-330-7680.