LATEST: Stabbing suspect had hired victim as a private investigator, police say

Authorities arrested a man in connection to an early morning stabbing near 48th and O Street. 

Lincoln Police Department officers took 26-year-old Lawson Ballard into custody for first-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. 

Officers were called to the scene shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday, on reports of a man bleeding on the sidewalk near Chick-fil-A.

The victim, who has not been identified other than as a 52-year-old man, had stab wounds to his neck, chest and hands, police said. He was taken to the hospital for surgery, and his injuries were described as life-threatening. 

Lawson had hired the victim as a private investigator, and that the man reportedly asked Lawson for more money which led him to believe he was being scammed, police said. He said the stabbing was in self-defense, police said. Police said they do not know what Lawson had hired the victim to investigate. 

Police say there is no ongoing threat to the public.