A 21-year-old Fort Collins stabbing victim and his girlfriend fled into a King Soopers store late Sunday evening after being attacked by two men near a bus stop, Fort Collins police said this morning.
The victim was identified as Gerald Batrez, who was stabbed multiple times during a disturbance near a bus stop on Elizabeth Street near Taft Hill Road.
Rita Davis, spokeswoman for the Fort Collins Police Department, said witnesses told police that Batrez and a 20-year-old female friend were walking near the bus stop on the north side of Elizabeth Street near the King Soopers when they were approached by two men and two women.
Words were exchanged, and a fight ensued, said Davis.
During the assault, a man police identified as Tranquilino Mercado pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed Batrez, twice in the right arm and once in the left side, said Davis.
Batrez and his female companion went to the King Soopers, where employees contacted police.
About two hours later, police arrested Mercado and Jesse Martinez, both 19 and from Fort Collins, in the 600 block of Gallup Street.
Both men were transported to the Larimer County Detention Center for investigation of first-degree assault, a Class 3 felony.
Davis said the assault was “possibly gang motivated.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Detective Tammy Tracy at 970-221-6582 or Crime Stoppers of Larimer County at 970-221-6868.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
