City man slashed by unknown assailant

December 20, 2001

City man slashed by unknown assailant

A Hagerstown man who was slashed repeatedly across his torso was in serious condition at Washington County Hospital Tuesday evening, a hospital spokeswoman said.

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Robert Howard Strothers III, was rushed into surgery at Washington County Hospital minutes after he was discovered staggering along the sidewalk in front of Duke's Tavern on East Franklin St. at 1:55 a.m. Tuesday.

"I saw him walking on the street ... the first thing I noticed was that his white pants were turning red," said Sgt. George Knight, who was on patrol.

Knight called 911 and began administering emergency aid to Strothers, 47, of the 200 block of North Jonathan Street, until Community Rescue Service personnel arrived.

"He had an abdominal wound from front to back," Knight said. "There was a lot of blood loss."

Police said Strothers had two six-inch cuts on his left hip and upper thigh, a small superficial cuton his lower back, and a severe cut that started two inches to the left of his center back and went around his side to the center of his stomach and was approximately 2 to 3 inches deep.

Police said Strothers was stabbed during an argument in front of 9 W. Franklin St. and then walked to the first block of East Franklin Street.

His assailant was described as a black man, 5 feet, 8 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds.

He was wearing a dark brown coat, blue jeans, white sweatshirt and carrying a black umbrella. He may also have a scar on his face, police said.

The assailant had a dark knit hat on at the time of the assault but it fell off as he fled, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact CID at 301-790-3700 Ext. 234.

- Kimberly Yakowski

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