The Boston Police Department reports arresting a local man on gun charges for the three illegal weapons and ammunition they say officers found in his apartment - where they initially went while following a blood trail after a knife fight in the parking lot of a nearby liquor store Saturday night.

Police say the man was one of four men who wound up in local emergency rooms with non-fatal stab wound following the fight in the Fernandes parking lot off Hancock Street around 8:45 p.m.

"During the course of that initial investigation, officers arrested Keith Howell, 46, of Dorchester, on Unlawful Possession of Ammunition charges after recovering a stray round of .223 caliber ammunition which was dropped by the suspect as he was gathering his belongings as he prepared to leave the residence. Officers then froze the apartment until the search warrant could be obtained and executed."

Police say got a search warrant and went into the apartment at 69 Hancock St. around noon on Monday:

"As a result, officers were able to safely recover a 5.56 caliber Bushmaster rifle with large capacity feeding device, a .22 caliber Remington long rifle, a .32 caliber Cobra semi-automatic handgun and 42 rounds of 5.56 caliber ammunition. It was later determined that the Bushmaster rifle had been previously reported stolen in New Hampshire."

In addition to the illegal-ammunition charge, Howell now faces three counts of unlawful possesison of a firearm, possession of a large capacity feeding device and receiving stolen property, police say.