Hot Springs police confirm weekend stabbing at festival

Posted on by Margaret Williams

Hot Springs Police Chief David Shelton confirms that a stabbing took place Saturday, Sept. 27, at the French Broad Brew Fest during an altercation, that a suspect was arrested and that the victim is at Mission Hospital in Asheville.

Witnesses tell Xpress that one individual was stabbed in the groin and the suspect was held by “6-8 men … until police arrived.” The victim, who had intervened in an altercation, was airlifted by MAMA to Mission Hospital.

Chief Shelton noted that the knife — a 4 or 4 1/2-inch folding blade — didn’t cut the victim’s femoral artery but, nonetheless, the injury resulted in substantial blood loss.

Event organizers praised the response of the festival’s medical and security teams, as well as others who helped restrain the suspect until police arrived. In nearly 20 years of festivals, says co-organizer Matt Kern, “we’ve never had anything like this [happen]. It was extremely unusual.” He says that two festival goers intervened to hold the suspect until security arrived.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams
View all posts by Margaret Williams →

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

5 thoughts on “Hot Springs police confirm weekend stabbing at festival”

  1. Leia

    I was in the campground when the man was tackled. Thanks to all the men for restraining the accused and keeping folks calm.

    • Rasa

      Thank you to the 2 men who tackled him and the ONE man who held him. Festival medical and security should not be praised. First aid tent didn’t even know CPR and the security guy couldn’t even put handcuffs on perp due to uncontrollable shaking…get it together if you are planning to control a situation, crisis team! Thank you first aid woman for controlling the victim’s bleeding.

      • M.H.

        Rasa,

        I would be very interested in speaking with you about what you remember. Please contact if you’d like to talk.

  2. Jason

    The actions of one man will not break the spirit of hundreds who came out to enjoy each others company, great music and outstanding beer. We will be back next year with a continued spirit of love and community. Thank you Matt for putting on such a great Fall Festival and I hope even more will come out for the next event in the Spring. Thank you again.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.