Police investigate stabbing at Auburn homeless encampment

AUBURN — A local man was stabbed Saturday morning during a confrontation with another man at a homeless encampment in the woods behind Walmart.

Police said the man, who was not identified, suffered a cut during the scrap. He was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston where he was treated and released.

When police responded to the reported fight, they found two men described as highly inebriated, including the wounded man. Both were questioned about the matter and police expected to forward their findings to the District Attorney’s Office for possible prosecution.

Police Lt. Barry D. Schmieks said Wednesday that it was unclear if the men involved are homeless. Some of those who camp in the woods near Walmart on Mt. Auburn Avenue are homeless while others camp there only occasionally.

The matter of homelessness has been a hot-button issue in recent months since a proposed homeless shelter in Lewiston has become a point of political contention.

Last week, Auburn city officials razed several encampments near Bonney Par k in order to clear the area as they do each spring. The move was the focus of vigorous debate between advocates for the homeless and others who see the encampments as a source of violence and unsanitary conditions.