Man stabbed at ZZ Top concert

UAPD

By: Jack Willems

Posted: 10/12/07

Regardless of how the band sounded, at least one man at the ZZ Top concert last Friday had a bad night.

The UA Police Department continues to investigate a stabbing that occurred after the concert Friday. The stabbing happened at approximately 10:30 p.m. as both the suspect and the victim were leaving the concert, police said.

The victim is in stable condition at Washington Regional Medical Center. The victim told investigators that he did not know the assailant, authorities said. The police have no leads on who committed the stabbing, although they do have a description of the assailant, said Gary Crain, UAPD spokesman.

A witness told investigators that the victim and the suspect got into an argument during the concert, authorities said. The subject of their argument cannot be released at this time, Crain said. Some time later, the assailant stabbed the victim in the abdomen as they were leaving the concert, authorities said. The suspect also slightly wounded a second person on the hand and then ran out of the building, authorities said.

The suspect was described as a white male in his early 30s, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a thin face, red hair, a moustache and a triangular goatee, authorities said. He was wearing a torn ZZ Top concert shirt at the time, authorities said. At the time of the argument, the suspect was reported to be with two other men and two women. One woman was described as being 5 feet 2 inches tall, about 120 to 130 pounds, with brown hair. The second woman was described only as having braided hair. One man was described as a white male, 5 feet six 6 inches tall, with a slender build and wearing black leather. The second man was described as having a husky build with very short dark hair.

The concert was part of the Bikes, Blues & BBQ festival. While there have been some fights that needed breaking up, this is the only instance of serious physical violence on campus during the festival, Crain said.

The campus typically sees no rise in violence during the festival, Crain said. The UAPD received two reports of aggravated assault last year, compared to two in 2005 and four in 2004, according to the 2006 Clery Report.

"We haven't had any stabbings before," Crain said.

The stabbing was not the only knife-related crime on campus that day. Two men - William Greenwalt of Euless, Texas, and Paul Christian of Fort Smith - were arrested for possession of knives at Baum Baseball Stadium at 3 p.m. last Friday, Crain said. When police put Greenwalt's name into a database, they found that Greenwalt had a warrant from the police department in Fort Worth, Texas, on the charge of aggravated assault, Crain said.

Sometime between 9:30 and 11 p.m. that night, someone broke into a car in Lot 16 by breaking the windshield, authorities said. Nothing was stolen from the car when the owner found it, though the damage done to the windshield was estimated to be at $200, Crain said.

The police have no leads at this time, and no explanation as to why the car was broken into, Crain said.

"I wish we could catch him and ask him," Crain said.