SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Authorities have identified a Spokane, Wash., man they say was accidentally stabbed to death by his own knife.
The Spokane County medical examiner’s office says an autopsy shows 52-year-old Rene Chico Salas died Saturday of a stab wound to the chest.
Police say Salas had a knife when he was banging on a locked door at an apartment building after a dispute with a resident. Officers say when the door eventually opened, the impact apparently knocked the knife’s blade into Salas’s shoulder, cutting an artery.
Officer Jennifer DeRuwe (De-ROO) tells The Spokesman-Review that a thorough investigation indicates the death was a tragic accident, though she adds, “We realize it is very hard to believe.”
