COLUMBIA, Ky. — Kentucky State Police charged an 18-year-old Columbia man on Thursday with assaulting Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer.
Officers arrested Kanissa'a Thompson on one count of second-degree assault at about 3:30 p.m. (CST) at a residence on Grady Loop Road in Adair County, according to a news release.
Thompson allegedly assaulted Meyer, 24, during an incident early Sunday, Dec. 9. Meyer received medical treatment after the assault at Westlake Hospital in Columbia.
State police did not release details of what led to the incident.
The charge of second-degree assault, a felony, means the victim received serious physical injuries, said Trooper Billy Gregory, spokesman for Kentucky State Police Post 15 in Columbia.
The charge does not mean a weapon was used in the assault. Gregory said that to his knowledge, there is no allegation that Thompson used a weapon.
Police took Thompson to the Adair County Regional Jail. Trooper Adam Likins continues to investigate the incident.
The alleged assault reportedly happened at a facility two or three miles outside Columbia called the Red Barn Event Rental.
People rent the facility for wedding receptions, class reunions and other functions, said the owner, Chris Wilson.
Wilson said he had rented the Red Barn to a woman who may have been a student at Lindsey Wilson College for a private social event Saturday night.
Wilson said renters get a code to access the building. He said he was not at the facility Saturday night or early Sunday morning and does not know what happened, but that he does not condone violence at the facility.
Wilson said the facility seats about 135 people, but he didn't know how many were at the event Saturday night.
Meyer did not return a message seeking comment Thursday.
Meyer was a 21-year-old U.S. Marine corporal when Taliban fighters ambushed members of his unit at a village in Afghanistan in September 2009.
Meyer braved intense fire to go to the aid of pinned-down U.S. and Afghan troops, saving the lives of 36 soldiers, according to the Marine Corps account of the battle.
President Barack Obama awarded Meyer the Medal of Honor last year. He was the first living Marine to receive the award in nearly four decades.
