Teapot bested knife in East Boston fight, police say

UPDATE: Ermilov tells NBC Boston the guests attacked him first and he grabbed the knife in self defense..

A man who manages an Airbnb short-term rental at 140 Marginal St. in East Boston attacked a person renting a room and his guest with a kitchen knife early Saturday and stopped only when one of them smashed a glass teapot over his head, police say.

Police say Alexandr Ermilov, 29, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and malicious destruction of property. He was released on $300 bail at his arraignment today, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Police say Ermilov got into an argument with one of the men and became enraged enough to smash down the door of the first-floor room being rented by one of the men, and his guest, who had returned from a club earlier in the evening.

Police did not say what caused the initial argument, but said that when officers arrived, around 4:30 a.m., they found one victim covered in blood, blood smeared on the walls and a smashed bedroom door.

Neither of the victims nor Ermilov suffered life threatening injuries, police say.

Innocent, etc.