By Ryan Donnelly
On Thursday, May 28, Lieutenant Brian Jameson from the Ambridge Police Department gave a new statement to Ambridge Connection as an update to the stabbing incident.
Jameson stated, “The actor that did the stabbing is Niklas Leopardi of Harmony Township. He was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and reckless endangerment.”
“The other actor who did not do the stabbing was charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment. His name is Kevin Brown. I believe he is from Monaca.”
“The incident, through investigation, was a retaliation from an assault on [Leopardi’s] girlfriend earlier in the day.”
Jameson explained that allegedly Leopardi’s girlfriend was attacked by a juvenile male in Harmony Township earlier in the day on Wednesday, May 27. The alleged retaliatory fight and stabbing then occurred later in the day at the juvenile male’s home in Ambridge on Maplewood Ave. The juvenile male was reported to have been alerted that Leopardi, Brown, and others were on the way to his house to attack, so friends were called to assist. As many as 15 individuals assembled to help defend the juvenile male. Apparently three of those individuals became stabbing victims at the hands of Leopardi during the scuffle that ensued.
Both Leopardi and Brown are currently incarcerated at the Beaver County Jail. They were both arraigned this morning.
One of the three stabbing victims turned out to have more severe wounds than initially thought. He suffered a punctured liver in the incident. He had surgery and is in stable condition. The other two stabbing victims’ wounds were less severe.
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Two of the victims were immediately taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The third victim went to the Ambridge police station to make a statement, but soon realized the seriousness of his wounds. He was then transported to a local hospital for treatment as well.
Jameson continued, “The actors fled the scene. They were both identified. We are not releasing their names just yet. We will probably release them tomorrow. We’re processing that information right now. Apparently there was an altercation over a female. And that’s pretty much where we’re at.”
“The actor came down here with a bunch of guys in an attempt to jump one of the individuals at 698 Maplewood, but the individual at Maplewood had found out that he was on his way with some friends and called some friends of his own. Things got a little out of hand.”
“We’ll probably do a press release tomorrow with more details. We’re just trying to get all the paperwork done now.”
The alleged perpetrator of the stabbing is in custody. The other main individual involved in the fight is also in custody.