Knife fight leaves two men injured

The Western News

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department officers are continuing their investigation into an altercation Sunday night in which shots were fired and two men suffered knife wounds, one of the men bleeding profusely.

At 10:31 p.m. Sunday, Sheriff’s deputies responded to multiple 911 calls reporting an altercation had taken place involving at least two armed men in the area of Kootenai Vista Drive in Libby. 

Reports indicated that at least one of the men was bleeding profusely. 

Two ambulances where paged to stand by at Libby Christian Church while county deputies and Libby police responded to investigate and make the scene safe for the ambulance to enter. 

The two men, Bryan Fischer, 53, and Nathaniel Ashmore, 34, both residents of the trailer park, were located in separate trailers. Both men were injured and under the influence of alcohol. 

Fischer was located at a neighbor’s trailer and detained. Fischer had sustained minor knife wounds. 

Ashmore was located at his own trailer, and had sustained major knife wounds causing profuse bleeding. 

The men fought in Fischer’s trailer and then both fled. Though gunshots appear to have been fired at some point during the altercation, neither man had sustained a gunshot wound. 

Libby Volunteer Ambulance transported Ashmore to St. John’s Hospital for treatment. 

Fischer was detained and transported to the Sheriff’s Department for questioning. He was later released. 

Detectives applied for and received two search warrants. The warrants were executed in the early morning hours at the homes of both men. 

Sheriff’s detectives are continuing an investigation into the circumstances of the fight. No charges have been filed to date.