A Durango man has been arrested on suspicion of driving a knife into the chest of a bar bouncer early Wednesday in downtown Durango.

The incident occurred at 1:12 a.m. near Orio’s Roadhouse, 652 Main Ave.

Kyle Ryan Cooper, 25, was arrested about 3 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder, said Detective Brad Roach, with the Durango Police Department. Police obtained permission to enter Cooper’s friend’s house in the 400 block of East 32nd Street, and they found Cooper hiding under a bed, Roach said. He was arrested without incident.

Cooper was being held Wednesday night at the La Plata County jail on $750,000 bail.

Zachary Joseph Oliver, 22, suffered a life-threatening stab wound to the chest, according to a news release issued by the Durango Police Department.

Amber Oliver, the man’s twin sister, said the knife narrowly missed her brother’s heart and caused severe bleeding, which led to a collapsed lung and brain trauma from a lack of blood.

He was listed in “serious” condition Wednesday night at Mercy Regional Medical Center, said David Bruzzese, spokesman for the hospital.

Jeffrey Oliver, the victim’s father, who witnessed the incident, said it looked like Cooper punched his son in the chest on the sidewalk in the 600 block of Main Avenue.

Zachary Oliver took a couple of steps backwards and said, “I’m stabbed, I’m stabbed.”

The father said he chased after the suspect but lost him as he ran around a corner. He looked back and saw his son lying on the sidewalk soaked in blood.

He helped drag his son into the bar and sat him against a wall.

“I think he kept saying, ‘I’m stabbed,’ something like that, and then he started to fade away, like he was going to sleep,” Jeffrey Oliver said. “I thought he was a goner.”

The father said he stopped by the bar to say hello to his son.

Zachary Oliver was telling his father about having to remove Cooper earlier that evening.

According to the victim’s sister, Cooper entered the bar earlier that evening with a woman, and Zachary Oliver gave her a hug. Cooper became upset and started fighting with Oliver. That’s when he kicked him out.

Cooper returned about an hour later with the knife, she said.

In a strange twist, Roach said an off-duty employee with the police department happened to find the knife while walking in the downtown area Wednesday. Roach had not seen the knife as of Wednesday evening, and he could not provide a description, other than to say it was a pocket knife, he said.

Investigators were trying to obtain video evidence in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to call Roach at 375-4538.

shane@durangoherald.com