Alleged Attack By Walmart Employee "Out Of Character" Says Friend
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PRINCETON (CBS11) - He was an innocent bystander who stepped in to help. Now, that off-duty firefighter and another man are recovering after they were stabbed inside a Princeton Walmart of Wednesday - in an attack those who know the suspect say was completely out of character.
The dramatic moments were caught on dash cam video - suspect Nicolas Martinez drops to the ground and is cuffed for allegedly attacking two men inside the Princeton Walmart.
Moments before, police say he took a knife to the throat of McKinney Fire Department Battalion Chief George Cook and also stabbed Frederick Oswald, a Walmart contractor.
"It's just not the Nick that I knew anyways. It was a really big shock to me, because Nick is very respectful, nice-looking dude. Something's not right there," said Justin Keyes, who says he and Martinez were once close friends.
Keyes' wife, Madison, worked with him at Walmart but wasn't there Wednesday.
"That could have been me. That could have been, if I was shopping with my family, anyone. It's close to home. It's scary," she said.
Chief Cook was off-duty and was shopping at Walmart. Police say he was trying to break up a confrontation between Martinez, a Walmart employee, and Oswald. They say the two were not targeted but were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Justin Keyes says he can't imagine what Martinez was thinking.
"I just don't get why he would do something like that, affect other people's families and his life as well," said Justin Keyes.
Martinez cut his own hands in the struggle and was also taken to the hospital. He now faces two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury and has been fired from Walmart.
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