Man stabbed with box cutter knife by suspect riding bike in Providence, police say

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A man was stabbed with a box cutter knife by a man who police say was riding a bike in Providence on Monday.

The stabbing happened just after 5 p.m. on Manton Avenue.

Police said when they arrived at the scene, they found the victim, identified as Nicholas Bouthillier, with a big cut on his stomach.

Bouthillier, who’s 37 years old, told police he stepped in to help his friend who was being robbed by the suspect of his methadone while he was sitting outside of the victim’s home, read a police report.

Soon after the robbery and stabbing, police said the suspect — identified as Omar Baez, 42 — fled the scene.

Police said Baez then came back and tried to enter Bouthillier’s friend’s apartment, but wasn’t able to get in. He then smashed a window before leaving again.

Baez, said police, was spotted a short time later on Manton Avenue at Hyat Street on his bike. When officers approach him, he abandoned the bike and tried to run away before he was arrested.

Bouthillier was taken to Rhode Island Hospital for his injuries.