Joseph Schulte, age 29, of Nashua

PELHAM – A 27-year-old Litchfield resident who police said attempted to stop another man from allegedly stabbing a third man during a Christmas morning gathering in Pelham was rushed to a Boston area hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries, police said.

The alleged assailant, Joseph Schulte, 29, of Nashua, fled the scene, but Nashua police picked him up about three hours later at a Nashua residence police didn’t specify.

Schulte was jailed pending an appearance before a bail commissioner, which police said was expected to take place sometime later Christmas morning.

Schulte is charged with two counts of first-degree assault, which are Class A felonies.

The alleged stabbings occurred outside an Old County Road residence, according to Pelham police, who said officers, along with firefighters and medical personnel, were called to the residence at 1:08 a.m. for a report that two people had been stabbed.

First-arriving officers found the Litchfield man unconscious, and determined he had been stabbed multiple times and that his injuries were life-threatening, police said.

The other alleged victim, a 28-year-old man from New Ipswich, had serious injuries, but they weren’t considered life-threatening, police added.

Both alleged victims were transported to Lowell General Hospital. The Litchfield man was later transported to Tufts Medical Center, police said.

While the incident remains “an active investigation,” according to police, they said the preliminary investigation shows that Schulte arrived at the gathering and allegedly “began exchanging words” with the man from New Ipswich.

The argument “quickly escalated to a physical altercation,” police said, during which the New Ipswich man suffered “a deep laceration to his forehead and serious facial injuries.”

The Litchfield man, police said, “attempted to stop the fight,” and was “stabbed repeatedly as a result,” allegedly by Schulte.

Police said their officers were assisted at the scene by officers from Hudson, Salem and state police, and Dracut, Massachusetts.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

Newsletter