A man has been accused of stabbing another man and causing serious bodily injuries near the Boulder Public Library at 1001 Arapahoe Avenue earlier this month.

Darrell Persson, 34, was charged with first-degree assault — causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon; and felony menacing — real or simulated weapon.

He is currently in custody on a $20,000 bond and is set to appear on Jan. 13 for his preliminary hearing.

Persson has 15 prior convictions in Boulder County dating back to 2012, according to online records.

According to an affidavit, at 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 20, Boulder police were notified of a stabbing in the area of 1001 Arapahoe Avenue, just west of the Boulder Public Library. Officers found a man on scene who had been stabbed in the back. He had a broken rib, punctured lung and a bilateral hemothorax, which is the accumulation of blood between the lungs and chest wall, according to National Library of Medicine.

The stabbing suspect was described as a white man, 5-foot-8-inches tall, who was wearing a black jacket and pants. At 8:38 p.m. Dec. 20, police found a man who matched the suspect’s description in the area of Sixth Street and Arapahoe Avenue. The man, later identified as Persson, had blood on his pants and his left hand.

Through witness interviews, police learned that at about 8 p.m. the same evening, the victim was at a campsite by the library. He walked up to a green tent and told the occupants to “shut up.” A witness told police that the victim believed the occupants were smoking narcotics and they needed to go elsewhere to smoke. Persson then reportedly came out of the tent and asked who told them to shut up, the victim responded and then Persson reportedly began attacking him.

The two rolled to the ground, according to the affidavit, and the man was stabbed in the back. Persson then reportedly fled the scene. Police wrote that the victim was not armed before or during the assault.

Police then interviewed Persson, who recounted that the victim told him to shut up which prompted him to leave the tent. Persson said he then went to get his friend to help him resolve the dispute when the victim “came at him.” Persson told police that the victim reached toward his waistband so he reacted on instinct. Persson explained that he grabbed his pocket knife and attacked the man in self-defense. Persson said he then fled as people started to chase him and while running he tripped and dropped his knife.