Question "Why are you carrying a weasel?" preceded punch in the nose, say Wash. State cops

(CBS/AP) HOQUIAM, Wash. - This would be a fairly routine case of assault - except that it involves a dead weasel.

Police say a man in the western Washington town of Hoquiam was carrying the dead animal when he burst into an apartment and assaulted another man.

The victim asked, "Why are you carrying a weasel?"

Police said the attacker answered, "It's not a weasel, it's a marten," then punched him in the nose and fled.

A marten - and thank you for asking - is a member of the weasel family.

The attacker (the one with the weasel) was apparently looking for his girlfriend, and had gone to her ex-boyfriend's apartment Monday where the about-to-be victim of this encounter was merely a guest.

Police later found the 33-year-old weasel-toting suspect arguing with his girlfriend at another location and arrested him after a fight.

He said he had found the dead animal near Hoquiam, but police don't know why he carried it with him.

Local station KXRO reported the alleged assailant left behind the carcass of the dead weasel... um, marten.