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Police: Arrest Made In Rogers Stabbing; Victim Shows Sign Of Improvement

ROGERS (KFSM) — An arrest has been made in a stabbing in Rogers Thursday night (Jan. 4), according to Keith Foster with Rogers police. Paul Michael Welch,...

ROGERS (KFSM) -- An arrest has been made in a stabbing in Rogers Thursday night (Jan. 4), according to Keith Foster with Rogers police.

Paul Michael Welch, 22, was arrested at about 10:45 a.m. Friday (Jan. 5) and is facing charges of battery in the first degree.

According to police, the call came in at 11:41 p.m. Thursday at 1116 S. 25th Place.

Police said that a man was reported to have been stabbed in the abdomen by a white male, who then left the area in a black vehicle.

An officer saw the vehicle leaving the area and began to follow it, at which point the suspect vehicle fled and was later found abandoned in the area of South 24th Street and West Walnut Street. He was later taken into custody.

Family of Trevor Palmer, 25, confirmed that he was the victim.

Darild Self lives next door to where the stabbing happened. He said Welch first knocked on his door and his wife answered. He said Welch was asking for a specific woman by name.

"She said no she lived next door, she lived next door," he said. "She didn't say she lived there, but anyway he started looking around in the house and that's when she slammed the door in his face."

He said Welch then went to the Palmer's house, knocking on both doors several times. Trevor Palmer finally answered it thinking Welch was someone else.

Palmer's mom Karen said before her son could open the door, Welch punched Palmer and her son tried to push back.

"At the same time I thought the kid was going to punch him in the stomach, he stabbed him in the stomach and in the arm. And then I got in between them and told him, you're not going to hurt my son, get out of here the cops are coming and he just stared at me," she said.

Welch then drove off. Karen Palmer said they've only lived in the house a few weeks, and said she thinks Welch was looking for prior renters.

"I started screaming for my neighbor over here to come and help and he did and the police showed up. And my son was sitting there and he couldn't breathe." she said.

Karen said her son is in the ICU at a local hospital, and that he was stabbed just inches from his liver.  According to Sharon Haney, Trevor's grandmother, tells 5NEWS that as of early Saturday, the family received information from the hospital that he is still in ICU, but the good news is that the bleeding has stopped.

Rogers police said they pursued Welch for a short time until he abandoned his car and ran off. They were able to track him down using his license plate number to identify him.

Welch was being held at the Benton County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

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