Only On 9: Stabbing Victim At Downtown Loft Party Speaks Out After Spending Months In Hospital
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — It was, the victim recalls, just a downtown loft party.
No one was expecting violence. But violence showed up uninvited.
It's a story that is Only On 9 -- the stabbing victim who spent months in the hospital recovering is well enough to tell his story.
The victim, we are calling him "Tony," spoke to KCAL9's Rachel Kim Wednesday evening.
"Me speaking out might save somebody else's life," Tony said.
The victim didn't want his face shown -- the man who nearly killed him is still out there.
Tony showed Kim the scars left on his body after he was stabbed three times by the suspect -- seen on security video -- after leaving an advertised party in downtown LA back in May.
"It didn't have to go to that extent," Tony says.
The party was held on the top floor of a building along Santee Street.
But after the party ended, a fight broke out on the sidewalk and ended up across the street where Tony got stabbed.
The scuffle was also captures on tape.
Tony tells us he had no problems with the suspect or his friends at the party, but for some reason they started a fight with Tony's group outside.
"Someone comes up and sucker punches me, I fall back and the next thing I know I feel somebody get on top of me with a knife and proceeded to stab me multiple times," he says.
Tony suffered a collapsed lung and has nerve damage. Detectives consider the suspect dangerous and hope releasing this video will help the public identify him.
"My other concern is that this would be a continuing problem. If this guy has done this to my victim, if he'd do it to someone else in the community," says Det. Mchael Mazzacano of the LAPD's Central Division.
The bearded suspect has a sleeve tattoo and is described as being about 6 feet tall and 180 pounds.
"Angry, he definitely threw me off track," Tony says, "It would make me feel a lot better knowing someone like him is off the streets."
If you have information or recognize this suspect, you're asked to call detectives at LAPD's Central Division.