Suspect Charged After Woman Seriously Injured in Mankato Stabbing

Apr 23

A Mankato man has been charged after allegedly stabbing a woman in the neck during a violent outburst at a home Easter Sunday.

Lul Gatbel Lul, 23, is accused of first-degree assault after police say he used a large kitchen knife to inflict a serious neck wound that caused the victim a fractured vertebra and nicked artery.

The woman underwent emergency surgery in Mankato before being transferred to Rochester for further care.

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Police were dispatched to a residence around 12:23 p.m. on April 20, after reports of yelling, crashing noises and a possible fall. A second caller reported that someone had been stabbed in the neck. Responding officers spoke to a witness who identified the suspect as “Louie Louie,” describing him as a Black male with dreadlocks, wearing a white t-shirt and jeans.

Ring doorbell video showed a man matching that description leaving the residence minutes later and getting into a white Chrysler 200 sedan with dark-tinted windows. The vehicle was registered to Lul and officers confirmed his identity through prior contacts.

Witnesses told police that Lul had been acting erratically, yelling and not allowing them to leave the bedroom. One said she was frightened and believed Lul was holding them hostage. She said that as the other female attempted to get up to get water, she suddenly collapsed and was bleeding heavily. A second person in the room wrestled the knife away from Lul and threw it in a closet, fearing he might stab someone else.

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During the confrontation, Lul allegedly chased one of the witnesses before being physically pushed back. He eventually demanded his phone and car keys, took them and left the home.

Another witness told police that Lul had initially come downstairs holding a large knife, exposed himself and threatened to sexually assault one of the women. He then forced the group upstairs into a bedroom, where he turned off the lights and made demands for sex. When the victim tried to leave, Lul allegedly stabbed her in the back of the neck. She fell face down and does not remember anything after that.

At the hospital, medical staff confirmed the woman had sustained a nicked artery and fractured vertebra. She required emergency surgery and was later transferred to a higher-level facility.

Lul has been charged with felony first-degree assault and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

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