Police: Father accidentally stabbed son during fight outside pizzeria

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - A man accidentally stabbed his adult son in the back during a fight with several people outside a Tempe pizza restaurant, police said Monday.

Officer Liliana Duran, a Tempe police spokeswoman, said a man who was involved in the fight early Sunday morning moved out of the way when 39-year-old John Yanez tried to stab him. Instead, Duran said Yanez ended up stabbing his son, who was standing nearby and suffered injuries that weren't life-threatening.

In all, about nine people participated in the fight.

Authorities said Yanez and his associates were confirmed members of a criminal street gang and that security video from the restaurant showed that they started the fight.

It was unclear what prompted the dispute, but police said in court records that Yanez and his associates complained that the other group was not from their neighborhood.

Duran said Yanez and his son fled in a taxi after the stabbing.

Officers later arrested Yanez near McClintock Drive and Apache Boulevard. Authorities say they found heroin, methamphetamine and a knife with dried blood in Yanez's possession. He was booked on suspicion of aggravated assault, possession of dangerous drugs and assisting a criminal street gang.

It was unclear whether Yanez had been assigned an attorney.