(NEOSHO, Mo., AP) – Neosho police say a man is in critical condition after he was stabbed in the eye when he allegedly broke into another man’s apartment.

Police Lt. David Kennedy says the resident of the apartment, 31-year-old Jeffrey D. Heathman, stabbed the man Wednesday. He says the 28-year-old suspect apparently intended to assault Heathman.

Kennedy says the suspect left after being stabbed through his eyeball with a steak knife. But he was found later after going to the hospital for treatment and then transferred to a Joplin hospital. The man was alert enough to be interviewed by police on Thursday.

The Joplin Globe reports Kennedy says that interview led police to believe the stabbing was in self-defense.