ROCHESTER, Minn. - Police in Rochester say a man was "definitely under the influence of alcohol" when he allegedly stabbed two neighbors to death at a Salvation Army apartment building.
The 53-year-old man was arrested shortly after the stabbings Saturday night at Castleview Apartments as police say he tried to flee from a rear stairway. He was being held Sunday on two tentative counts of second-degree murder.
Rochester police Capt. John Sherwin says the suspect had reportedly "bickered" with the victims "quite a bit." Sherwin told the Post Bulletin newspaper that the suspect was combative with arresting officers and would not tell investigators what happened after he was arrested.
The victims are identified as 57-year-old Phillip William Hicks and 45-year-old Eric Alan Flemming. Sherwin says both men were stabbed in the chest and upper abdomen.
Police say the victims and suspect all lived at the apartments.
