Father fatally stabbed protecting homeless man

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - A southern California father was stabbed to death outside a pool hall early Sunday when he tried to stop a group of men from harassing a homeless man, reports CBS Los Angeles.

Donnie Reed, 39, of Rancho Cucamonga, has just stepped outside the pool hall with friends around 2:30 a.m. when he saw a homeless man being harassed and stepped in to intervene, according to the station.

The group of men then turned a knife on Reed and his friends. Witnesses called police, but by the time authorities arrived, the attackers had fled.

Reed, who had been stabbed in the chest, died less than an hour later at a nearby hospital. Another man was stabbed in the head and is in stable condition, reports the station.

Reed's wife, Jenny, says she is mourning the loss of her best friend, hero and husband of 19 years. The two were high school sweethearts, reports the station.

"I want him to stand in front of my kids and tell them why he took their daddy from them -- that's all I want," Jenny Reed told CBS Los Angeles of her husband's attacker.

The distraught mother says she can't understand why this happened when her husband was trying to do the right thing.

"It was just Donnie being Donnie and trying to help somebody who needed help," she told the station.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department is asking anyone with information about the incident to call Detective Daniel Hanke or Sgt. Trevis Newport at (909) 387-3589. Anonymous tips can be left at (800) 78-CRIME (27463) or at http://www.wetip.com.