RUMFORD – Police intensified patrols Tuesday in response to a slashing and attempted stabbing overnight Monday into Tuesday.

Police Detective Lt. Daniel Garbarini said the attacks are related to strife between feuding Rumford and Lewiston groups, but police were unsure if it was gang related.

Early Tuesday morning, a Rumford Hospital official called police to the hospital where a 20-year-old Mexico man was being treated, he said. The man said he was slashed twice by another man who exited a car while he was walking on Lincoln Avenue in Rumford. Garbarini said the attack was unprovoked.

“He said he was walking on or near the Lincoln Avenue bridge and a person in a vehicle that approached asked if he was from Rumford, and he said he was and that’s when the guy in the car got out and slashed him twice,” Garbarini said.

“The wounds were consistent with a defensive injury. It looked like he tried to defend himself with his arms up.”

Prior to that incident, police responded to a report of a fight late Monday night on Cumberland Street.

“During the fight, a guy attempted to cut open the stomach of a guy involved. We arrived and learned that the guy was not cut, but while he was engaged in disorderly conduct (fighting), another guy yelled, “Knife! Knife!” and he jumped back,” avoiding the blade, Garbarini said.

Fighting between the two groups kept police busy responding to complaints Monday night into early Tuesday morning.

“There seems to be a feud between Rumford and Lewiston people. We’ve learned this through interviewing different people. The group from Lewiston came up and there was a conflict. It’s not clear if it’s gang related, but there is a clear clique of people driven toward violence and they are here to cause problems.

“Last night, our guys went from complaint to complaint to complaint to deal with this seriousness. Boy, they were just overwhelmed,” Garbarini added.

With police Chief Stacy Carter away on vacation, Garbarini, who is the acting chief, increased patrols as a precaution.

Both incidents remain under investigation.