According to police, a 21-year-old man with his mouth covered in blood was arrested last night near Cal Anderson Park, accused of biting “a large portion” of another man’s ear off.

As Seattle Police Detective Renee Witt details on the SPD Blotter blog, authorities were called to the 100 block of 10 Ave. E Thursday night around 10 p.m. When they arrived the encountered an apparent assault victim missing a sizable chunk of his left ear. The 23-year-old victim told police that a suspect had entered his yard and urinated. The suspect’s girlfriend also showed up. According to police accounts, the victim and the girlfriend both told the suspect they should leave – but that didn’t happen. Instead, the couple got into an altercation, and when the victim stepped in to stop the suspect from assaulting his girlfriend the two men began fighting – at which point police say the suspect decided to bite into the victim’s ear. According to police, the suspect then fled the scene.

After conducting a search of the area, police say the suspect was located near Cal Anderson Park and taken into custody without incident. According to police, the man’s mouth was covered in blood when he was found. As Witt describes on the Blotter blog, “Officers asked the suspect if he swallowed the victim’s ear. He would not answer but looked up and smiled. An area check for the victim’s ear was negative.”

The suspect was booked into King County Jail for investigation of assault. Meanwhile, the victim was transported to Harborview for treatment.