Father Stabbed To Death In Arden Arcade Area Was Star Athlete At Inderkum High School
ARDEN ARCADE (CBS13) — A young father is being called a hero. Friends and family confirm Larry Hardy died after being stabbed while trying to stop an argument early Wednesday morning.
Hardy was once a star football player at Inderkum High School and a devoted father.
"His overwhelming love for his kid, his daughter, like she meant the world to him," said Terrance Leonard.
Leonard was once Hardy's coach.
"He could play offense, he could play defense, he could return kicks, he could punt," said Leonard.
But throughout the years Hardy became family, calling Leonard Uncle T. "[It was] beyond football, life," Leonard explained.
That all changed early Wednesday morning when the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office responded to a call for a stabbing at a home on Whitney Avenue near Watt Avenue. When they got there, deputies found Hardy, who's in his early 20s, bleeding.
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"No one else at that residence was harmed during this incident," said Sergeant Tess Deterding with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
CBS13 spoke to Katrina Duncan, the maternal grandmother of Hardy's daughter, before she knew he had passed away. She said Hardy was trying to put his daughter to sleep when he heard arguing in the living room and that's when he stepped in.
"He was a big protector so I can see him getting in the middle of it," Duncan said.
Mike Johnson was a coach at American River College and was recruiting Hardy. He said he misses mentoring Hardy.
"He had NFL talent, that's what he had," Johnson said.
Johnson says his talent playing football will be remembered for years to come.
"I was like this kid is unbelievable on of the best football players I seen high school football players in the area in a long time he is up there," he said.