A Palestinian accused of stabbing at the Athens hotel

ATHENS, Texas (KLTV) – A Palestine man has been arrested in connection with a stabbing at an Athens hotel that left one person in critical condition.

Dispatch called for all police units to respond to a hotel in the 1800 block of East Tyler Street around 2:15 a.m. Thursday, according to an affidavit. Officers were told there had been a stabbing, and the affidavit says multiple screams were heard in the background of the 911 call.

Upon arrival, an officer found a man kneeling next to another who appeared to be covered in blood after being stabbed, the document states. The injured man, Kristopher Hill, pointed to a hotel room door and kept repeating, “He’s in there,” the affidavit says.

Hill said he did not know who else might be in the room or what weapons. The affidavit says the other man claimed he saw Hill stabbed in the hotel room doorway, so he grabbed him off the ground and dragged him a short distance away. The man said he grabbed a towel and began applying pressure to the stab wounds.

Officers attempted to make contact with the suspect in the room, but the affidavit says they received no response. A hotel manager provided a key, and officers said they entered to find the suspect barricaded himself in the bathroom. Police said they heard the toilet flush repeatedly and tried to open the door with a foot, but the suspect held it closed for some time. When they were able to get in, officers said they found Kerry Kenneth Barnett, III, 50, with his hand in the toilet trying to remove “unknown items.”

Barnett allegedly threw himself at the officers’ feet with an unknown object, then was picked up and removed from the bathroom. The affidavit says he continued to resist officers as they tried to handcuff him.

After being placed in custody, Barnett was taken to an Athens hospital for evaluation. He was booked into the Henderson County Jail for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, tampering with physical evidence and resisting arrest. His bond was set at $82,500 total.

Hill was also taken to a nearby hospital, then flown to Tyler for further treatment. The affidavit says that as of 4:40 a.m., he was listed as critical and still undergoing surgery.