LEWISTON – A man was stabbed during a fight on Pine Street late Thursday and police were searching for a suspect Friday morning.

Witnesses said the victim was stabbed about 11:30 p.m. after a fight erupted near the corner of Pine and Pierce streets.

When police arrived, a crowd was breaking up and there was no sign of the man who had been knifed. Minutes later, several people outside 54 Pierce St. waved down an officer and led the way to the victim.

Police did not identify the man who had been stabbed. They said he had a wound in the upper right side around his ribs.

The victim was conscious and alert as he was loaded onto a gurney and taken to Central Maine Medical Center.

It was unclear how many people were involved in the fight that led to the stabbing. One man who said he was walking through the area described a small group of less than half a dozen people who were fighting near the corner.

By midnight, police were interviewing groups of people at several downtown blocks in the area of the fight. Police Sgt. Marc Robitaille said a suspect had not yet been identified but that officers were pursuing leads as the investigation got under way.

Staff report