WATERVILLE — A 26-year-old man is in critical condition after he was stabbed twice in the back during an altercation early this morning.

The man, Michael Reed, of Waterville, is at Maine Medical Center in Portland, a hospital spokeswoman said around 11 a.m.

Reed had been hit on the head with a piece of wood and stabbed in the back during a fight on Spring Street in Waterville at about 1:30 a.m., according to the Waterville Police Department.

Witnesses told police the fight broke out after a group of women walking on Spring Street got into a verbal dispute with two men, a department news release said.

One of the women called Reed on her cellular phone to get him to respond to the scene, near the intersection of Elm and Spring Street.

Shortly after Reed arrived, the two men arguing with the women got into a fight with Reed, who was struck on the head with a piece of wood and stabbed in his back. The two other men fled the scene before police arrived. Police declined to release further details about the incident.

They are continuing to investigate the stabbing, the release said.

Reed was initially taken by ambulance to MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Thayer Campus in Waterville, but was later transferred to the Portland hospital, police said.

Investigators ask anyone with information about the altercation to call the Waterville Police Department at 680-4700.