Suspect sought in stabbing death of Fall River man late Saturday night

FALL RIVER — A Fall River man was killed in a fatal stabbing in the city late Saturday night, and a city resident identified as the suspect is at-large.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn announced Sunday there is an active homicide investigation into the killing of 39-year-old Joseph Reading.

Police are searching for 29-year-old Adam James Conners, of Fall River, who also has ties to Halifax, in connection with the homicide.

On Saturday at around 11:35 p.m., Fall River police responded to the area of Church and Hall streets for a motor vehicle accident, according to a press release from the DA's office.

When officers arrived, they found the victim in the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle bleeding and unresponsive, the press release states. Reading was transported to Saint Anne’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An initial police investigation revealed that the victim had attended a gathering at 160 Hall St. in Fall River, where he was injured in an altercation.

The homicide is under investigation by Massachusetts State Police Unit assigned to the Bristol District Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with the Fall River Police Department.

Anyone with information on Conners' whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Luis Vertentes of the Major Crimes Division at 508-324-2796 or Trooper Tim Chiappini of the MSP Detectives Unit at 508-993-2016.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.