A 17-year-old boy from Bainbridge is in critical condition at Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial Hospital after he was stabbed Sunday night, according to Bainbridge Public Safety investigators.

The stabbing happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. Sunday night. The victim, a resident of Martin Street in West Bainbridge, was bleeding profusely and lying on his stomach unresponsive when BPS officers arrived at the intersection of Miller Avenue and Deborah Street. The spot where the victim was lying was about a block southwest of his home.

Officer William Day observed a large cut on the victim’s neck. A man who had been on his porch during the fight had laid a sheet across the victim and was applying pressure to his neck. An Emergency Medical Service ambulance arrived soon after and took the victim to the hospital.

Witnesses who were outside their homes on Miller Avenue gave police an account of what they heard and saw.

According to BPS, the victim was arguing with his assailant on the 600 block of North Miller Avenue shortly before he was stabbed. Statements made by the witnesses indicate the victim was defending himself against an accusation, but the exact nature of the argument has not yet been determined due to conflicting accounts, Investigator Mark Esquivel said.

The assailant rode away on a bicycle. Witnesses’ description of the man’s body, clothing and hair—which was in dreadlocks—helped Decatur County Sheriff’s deputies locate a suspect walking on Plantation Road near Rivers Apartments. The suspect, Darwin Johnson, 44, of 700 Hawk St., Bainbridge, had two outstanding warrants for his arrest. In addition, witnesses pointed to Johnson as leaving the scene of the stabbing.

Johnson was arrested and charged by BPS with aggravated assault.