A concerned parent was transported to the hospital in Salina after being stabbed in the side at the Central Mall parking lot Wednesday evening.

Police Captain Paul Forrester tells KSAL News that the 41-year-old father was transported to Salina Regional Health Center to be treated for two stab wounds and a punctured lung after confronting a man who allegedly approached a group of teens in the mall including his child.

Police say 61-year-old Michael Lilly of Salina asked the teens if they wanted some cigarettes and also invited them to come home with him. The group alerted mall security about Lilly’s behavior while one teen called his dad to explain the exchange they had just had. That prompted the parent to drive to the mall and confront Lilly when he found him in the parking lot outside of Ross.

The father told Lilly to, “stay away from the kids,” and in turn Lilly allegedly swung at the victim twice before the dad punched him in the face knocking him to the ground.

Lilly got up and ran back in the mall while the victim realized he’d been stabbed with a knife.

Lilly was taken into custody inside the mall and is now facing one count of aggravated battery.