ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – Authorities are searching for an East Tennessee man accused of brutally beating another over the weekend in Anderson County.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has asked for help locating Oryan Shawn Soles, 27. Investigators believe Soles assaulted Christopher Dean Davis, 27 at a home on Gadsontown Lane near the Claxton community. Davis was taken to his mother’s home on Raccoon Valley Road in Knox County, where someone called 9-1-1 at 7:24 p.m., on November 1st. Paramedics transported him to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. He was last listed in critical condition.

Deputies were called in to investigate because it appeared Davis had been brutally beaten. When they contacted the originally 9-1-1 called, they were told they had misunderstood, and Davis had been injured in an ATV wreck. They caller later contacted authorities and admitted he had actually been assaulted.

Soles was almost immediately identified as the person responsible for the assault. An attempted first degree murder warrant was issued for his arrest and law enforcement agencies in surrounding counties were told to be on the lookout for him.

Authorities say Soles is no stranger to the law. He was released from prison in 2007 after serving time for burglary and robbery. Oak Ridge Police took him into custody in June 2009 on charges related to crack cocaine possession.

He is believed to be hiding somewhere in East Knoxville and is possibly armed with a handgun.

Soles is described as a black, 5’11” and 190 lbs. He has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about Soles is asked to call the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department at (865) 457-2414.