Two brothers stabbed in NE Bend parking lot fight recovering from serious injuries, father says

(Update: Adding video; victims' father speaks to NewsChannel 21)

Police say injuries were non-life-threatening; no arrests have been made

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – As Bend police investigators conducted interviews Monday following a weekend stabbing that put two brothers in the hospital, their father told NewsChannel 21 their wounds were more severe than officers’ initial description of “non-life-threatening injuries.”

Officers responded shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday to the reported stabbing in the parking lot of the Stonebriar Apartments in the 21000 block of Highway 20, Lieutenant Brian Beekman said.

“Witnesses saw an altercation involving numerous people in the parking lot,” Beekman said in a news release.

Officers found two males with stab wounds, one 23 and the other 17, Beekman said. They were taken to St. Charles Bend for treatment.

“No arrests have been made at this time,” the lieutenant said Sunday. “An investigation is ongoing to determine what crimes were committed during this incident and to identify suspect(s).”

Beekman told NewsChannel 21 Monday that police were conducting more interviews and examining physical evidence.

Vincent Cegers, a 35-year Bend resident, contacted NewsChannel 21 and identified the victims as his two sons, Dahnte Cegers, 23, and Caleb Cegers, 17.

He said they are overall good kids, but do get into some trouble on occasion.

Cegers said he was not a witness to the fight, but based on what he’s learned since, he described it as an escalation of “young people being young people” that got out of hand.

The father also credited his nephew as a hero, saving his sons’ lives by trying to break up the fight.

"What I really want to say is that the injuries were much more severe than originally reported," Cegers said. "My oldest boy had his intestines hanging out, and my youngest boy just had his second surgery this morning, because they're still trying to figure out where the bleeding is at.

"And I also want to say that had it not been for my nephew, it's quite possible that my sons could have been laying out in the street and actually lost their lives over these injuries," he added.

The father also said he doesn’t fault police and believes they responded well to get the scene under control. As for the severity of injuries, he said police can't make the same calls that doctors can.

Staff at St. Charles Bend received an “emergency alert” text and link to a brief note that an emergency lockout protocol was activated at the hospital around 10:30 p.m.

St. Charles Public Information Officer Lisa Goodman said, "We did lockout for about 90 minutes, until we were sure there was no threat to our patients."

During a lockout, hospital entrances are locked, allowing people to leave but not to enter the hospital, as a precautionary measure.

Beekman confirmed that officers relayed “the status of what was going on to hospital staff. It’s ultimately their call on what they would do.”