Man stabbed while trying to help Sacramento-area grocery store employee being assaulted speaks out
NORTH HIGHLANDS – A good Samaritan stepped in to break up an altercation in North Highlands but became a victim himself.
A man was dropping his daughter off at work when he saw a grocery store employee being physically assaulted.
When he approached to help intervene, things took an even worse turn.
"It was something out of a horror story," said the victim who didn't want to be identified.
He was stabbed four times while trying to help stop an altercation between a homeless man and a grocery store employee.
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, the employee was asking the individual to leave the property, and that's when the assault started.
"All I saw from the window of my work truck was him trying to drag the employee down. He was trying to seriously assault him," said the victim.
He said he then drove over, got out of the car and told the suspect law enforcement was on the way and to back off. That's when the suspect grabbed a knife from his car.
"And as he's coming at me he's just going like this in any direction he can he ended up stabbing me four times. He got me once in my head, once right here between my chest and arm he aimed for my chest but I got out of the way," he said.
The suspect ultimately got in his car and left the area- he was arrested a short time later at a second location and is now in custody. The stabbing victim went to the hospital where he was treated for his wounds and released the same day. Regardless of the extent of his injuries, he said he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"I was raised to help. I can't stand there and watch another human being get killed, there's no way," he said.
"On the one hand, a positive side to this is there's still people who care and want to chip in and help someone out. But to take a hit like that is pretty rough," said a nearby resident Skip McCall.
The victim said people should have the right to go shopping without fearing for their lives.
"We need help. The state needs to step in. The county and the district attorney's office, I want them to go after this individual to the fullest extent of the law," he said.
He's calling this a mental health issue.
"I don't know what his story is everyone has a story but people, family members see mental illness like that they need to get help for them. But they're limited in what they can do, the state needs to quit ignoring," he said.
"It's just very unfortunate and probably it seemed like there was not enough help available for the man that did the stabbing. Lack of care is on the rise," said McCall.
Some of those stab wounds just barely missing vital organs like his spine and eye.
The suspect has been identified as Aaron Gonzalez. He's currently in the Sacramento County Jail charged with assault with a deadly weapon and bail set at $50,000, a number the victim said is far too low considering he could've been killed.