A 25-year-old Albert Lea man is in critical condition in St. Marys Hospital in Rochester after he was reportedly stabbed Sunday morning on Columbus Avenue near the Johnson Street railroad crossing.

Albert Lea police have arrested three men, Todd Raymond Paulson, 44, of Blaine; Marcus Allen Hallmark, 19, and David Joshua-John Skotte, 19, of Minneapolis, in connection to the incident. They are being held in the Freeborn County jail pending charges.

Paulson was arrested for first-degree assault, and Hallmark and Skotte were arrested for aiding and abetting first-degree assault.

According to police, the call of the alleged stabbing came into dispatchers just after 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

When officers arrived at the scene, they were told three men had fled to a residence in the 700 block of St. Peter Avenue, according to a news release. Hallmark and Skotte reportedly fled from that residence and were arrested a short time later hiding under a deck in the 400 block of St. Peter Avenue.

Paulson was arrested at an unspecified residence on the 700 block of St. Peter Avenue.

The victim, Javier Torres, was transported by private vehicle to Albert Lea Medical Center with a puncture wound to the abdomen. He was later flown by Mayo One helicopter to St. Marys Hospital. As of Sunday, he was listed in critical condition pending surgery.

Albert Lea Police Lt. Jeff Strom said it sounded as if the altercation started at the Freeborn County Fair earlier in the night.

The incident is still under investigation.

The Albert Lea Police Department was assisted by the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Look to www.AlbertLeaTribune.com for more.