An argument among women led to the stabbing of two men in front of a Tacony home last Friday night, authorities say.
Both victims were hospitalized, but neither sustained critical wounds, according to a Philadelphia police report. The stabbings occurred shortly before 10:20 p.m. on the 7100 block of Tulip St. Officers from the 15th district went to the scene and found a 24-year-old man in front of the house, bleeding from a stomach wound. Paramedics took him to Aria Health’s Torresdale campus, where he was treated and released that night.
Witnesses told the responding officers that the attacker had fled the scene in a blue 2009 Jeep Cherokee. While fleeing, the Jeep side-swiped a parked car, prompting witnesses to note the license plate number, said Officer Christine O’Brien, a police department spokeswoman. That information helped officers identify the suspect as Christopher Romanec, 23, of the 3300 block of Brighton St. in Mayfair.
Meanwhile, someone fitting the description of the suspect arrived at the emergency room at Aria Health’s Frankford campus with another man who had a stab wound of the hand. The hospital alerted police, who went there, added up the evidence and arrested Romanec.
During follow-up investigation, witnesses told police that the episode began as a fight between groups of young women. Eventually, one side gained the upper hand, so Romanec and other young men allegedly intervened. Romanec allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed the first victim in the stomach, O’Brien said. As he swung the blade, the same suspect allegedly slashed the hand of a friend. Romanec then drove his friend to Aria-Frankford.
Romanec was charged with two counts each of aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 12. No others were charged criminally. ••
