Man Who Hid Knives In Pants Stabs Self  

(AP) A man who hid hunting knives in his pants to try to steal them from a western Michigan store tripped while fleeing and stabbed himself in the abdomen, police say.

The suspect was hospitalized after Monday night’s attempted theft from a Meijer Inc. superstore in Grand Rapids and is expected to face a misdemeanor shoplifting charge, police say.

The wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, The Grand Rapids Press reported.

The man had put about $300 worth of hunting knives in his waistband, police told WZZM-TV. Police say he tried to leave the store, but Meijer employees confronted him and a scuffle followed.

The man then fell and was stabbed by the knives he had hidden in his clothing, police said. They said it happened about 5:40 p.m.

“The man was taken to the hospital,” said Meijer spokesman Frank Giuliano. “We are cooperating with the investigation by police.”

Police said the suspect has a record of retail fraud.

“I saw a man laying down on the mat by the carts, a knife by him with blood on the full blade of the knife,” shopper Heather Dodd told WOOD-TV. “It was not a dull kitchen knife or a sharp butcher’s knife, it was somewhere in between.

“Someone was holding him down so I just walked around him, grabbed my cart, made sure everything was OK and got out of the way.”