CASPER – A 17-year-old girl stabbed another 17-year-old girl in the stomach with a machete-style knife on Halloween after police say the victim rammed the other’s SUV.

Casper police said the attack happened in a parking lot on the city’s north side and involved a large gathering of teenagers, marijuana and alcohol.

Gabriella Kathleen Aultman appeared in Casper Circuit Court on Friday to be charged with aggravated assault and battery. Judge Kevin Taheri set bail at $100,000 cash or surety.

Court records available Monday show the incident followed a Halloween night gathering of about 20 vehicles and people in their teens and 20s in the parking lot of the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center on the city’s north side.

A witness told police that some people were in various groups of friends outside the vehicles and others were mingling between groups while others stayed in their vehicles.

Aultman was on the date with a friend and “designated driver” and agreed to give another 17-year-old friend a ride home in her family’s red Dodge Durango. An arrest affidavit states that as they tried to back out of the space just before 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 31, people gathered behind it, including the 17-year-old stabbing victim.

The victim, identified as “WW” told police that while the vehicle was in reverse, she almost hit others who were gathering behind and she “kicked the vehicle” to “let you know she was there” .

Aultman, known as “Bella,” then got out of the passenger side of the vehicle and pulled out a long, machete-style knife with a black and red blade.

Police said he stabbed the victim in the stomach. The victim took the knife and cut all four fingers on his left hand trying to remove it, the affidavit said.

Alcohol and Marijuana

During the police interview, Aultman disclosed that he had been drinking and smoking marijuana.

“Bella advised that she drank shots of Pink Whitney Vodka and smoked marijuana from a pipe,” the statement said. “Detectives could smell an alcoholic beverage on Bella’s person.”

Aultman told police that at 9:15 p.m. she wanted to leave and her 17-year-old friend, whom police identified as “AL,” was driving. She said her friend was backing away slowly because there were several people around the Durango talking. She said she yelled from inside the vehicle for the people to move, the affidavit states.

The victim hit the rear passenger side door of the pickup truck with a front kick, the affidavit states.

Aultman told police he became enraged and got out of the vehicle with the machete he was holding in his right hand extended toward the victim. She told police she asked the victim why he hit the SUV.

“Bella stated that she reached her arm forward, causing the tip of the knife to enter (the victim’s) stomach, approximately 1.5 inches deep,” the affidavit states. “Bella pulled her own arm back and quickly walked the short distance to Durango. Bella told (the driver) to go. As they were leaving, Bella states that she began to cry.

Aultman told police he didn’t remember much of the “dialogue” with the victim. She also told them that after the stabbing she was scared because she was currently involved in the court system for being a minor in possession of alcohol.

Emergency surgery

The affidavit states the victim was transported to Banner Wyoming Medical Center and suffered a “deep abdominal laceration” that required emergency surgery to repair the abdominal wall.

The victim may require multiple surgeries, the statement said.

Police stopped the Durango shortly after the incident and recovered the knife with blood on the blade.

The 17-year-old driver of the Durango, “AL,” told police she was the “designated sober driver” and was trying to be careful backing out of the parking space when she heard a bang. She pulled forward and Bella jumped with the knife she had in the SUV’s center console.

“After a very short time, Bella ran back to the vehicle yelling ‘go, go, go,'” she told police. She said Aultman began giving her instructions, grunting and crying saying he was “sorry he did that,” the affidavit states.

The affidavit also contains interviews with six other witnesses between the ages of 18 and 22 who were in the parking lot at the time of the incident. A 20-year-old man told police the Durango “almost hit” the victim

The charge of aggravated assault and battery carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The stabbing is the latest in a string of violence involving guns and youth in Casper this year.

Dale Killingbeck can be contacted at [email protected].