WASHINGTON (AP) — Police in Washington say one Marine stabbed another Marine to death after a fight that began when the suspect used an anti-gay slur to refer to the victim.
The slaying occurred early Saturday morning on Barracks Row, a bustling neighborhood near the Marine Barracks in Southeast Washington. Police say the suspect, 20-year-old Michael Joseph Poth, lives at the barracks.
Poth allegedly used a pocketknife to stab Philip Bushong, 23, once in the chest. Bushong, who was based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., died at a hospital. Poth has been charged with second-degree murder.
Marine Capt. John Norton, a Marine Barracks Washington spokesman, says Bushong’s death is “obviously a tragedy” and says the Marines are cooperating with local authorities.
Police believe the two men did not know each other before the fight.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
