An altercation between several individuals escalated to a violent conclusion in Knott County.  Troopers with Kentucky State Police Post 13 in Hazard were called to Frankie Jane Lane in the Pippa Passes community at around 4:36 p.m., after dispatchers received several calls about the fighting.  Before KSP personnel arrived, an additional caller advised that a man had been shot.  Upon arrival, troopers found that 46 year old James A. Pratt of Pippa Passes had suffered at least one gunshot wound to his lower chest.  James Pratt was air-lifted to Pikeville Medical Center, where he was taken into surgery and remains at this time.