Good Samaritans brutally attacked after Cowboys game
NORTH TEXAS — A North Texas couple is recovering from a brutal attack at a Dallas Cowboys game, and they want to warn others about what happened.
The Gonzalez family attended their first-ever Cowboys game on September 22 at AT&T Stadium. It was a dream come true for Wenceslao Gonzalez, a longtime fan.
"I never thought I'd be able to attend a game," he said. "For my wife and daughter to be able to do that for me was very special for me."
They got him the tickets for his birthday, but their celebration took an unthinkable turn as they were leaving the game and saw a man screaming at a young woman.
"And she was sobbing and she looked scared and she looked very similar to the age of my daughter," said Lindsey Gonzalez, Wenceslao Gonzalez's wife.
Lindsey Gonzalez said she felt like she had to intervene to tell her to get away from this man. That's when they said he turned on them.
"I know he was in my husband's face and he had already hit my husband in the face," said Lindsey Gonzalez. "I was trying to separate them. And that's all I remember. Next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital."
Lindsey Gonzalez said the man punched her too, knocking her out cold. When she was on the ground unconscious, her daughter and other witnesses watched him kick her in the face, according to Arlington police.
"I think I have a total of 12 fractures in my face," she said. "Around my left eye, left cheek. My nose had several fractures, my jaw was broken on the left side."
It took four metal plates to repair the damage, but doctors don't know if Lindsey Gonzalez will ever look the same.
Wenceslao Gonzalez had surgery Thursday to repair torn ligaments in his leg.
"Never imagined something like this could ever happen," said Lindsey Gonzalez. "Never."
Arlington police arrested 32-year-old Rafael Ramirez that night for the attack and he has been charged with two counts of assault causing bodily injury.
"I never wish bad upon anybody or want to see any harm come to anybody," Lindsey Gonzalez said. "I do want him to pay for what he's done though, and I want it to be fair and just. Our whole world has been turned upside down. Our lives may never be the same after this."
The Gonzalez's said their five kids are keeping them going right now, with the hope that what happened is a wake-up call for the woman they tried to help that night.
"If I saved her, then it was worth it," said Lindsey Gonzalez. "If I save one person, or if I help one person or one woman or anybody by putting my story out there, then it's worth it.
"Because if he could do this to people who just walked by and said something - we didn't do anything to him, all we did was walk by and say something. If he could do something to this extent, to random people, who knows what he was doing to her, you know?" said Emma Hernandez, who went to the game with her parents and tried to stop the attack.
But now they'll think twice before intervening in a similar situation again.
"It's good that you try to be a good Samaritan, but at the same time, what's going to happen if I am going to be a good Samaritan?" said Wenceslao Gonzalez.
The family is also struggling to understand why there weren't more police or security at the intersection of Cowboys Way and AT&T Way, as crowds were leaving the game.
"It was just really frustrating there wasn't more police presence, there wasn't more security around, to do the job they were supposed to be doing," Hernandez said.
CBS News Texas reached out to the Dallas Cowboys to ask about this incident and current security plans. The team said all events at AT&T Stadium are staffed appropriately by stadium security, as well as uniformed and plain-clothed Arlington Police officers and other law enforcement, and that the safety of their guests is always a priority.
Still, the Gonzalez family said their first Cowboys game will be their last.
"I never want to go back there," Lindsey Gonzalez said.
Neither Lindsey or Wenceslao Gonzalez have been able to work since the attack. They said they're grateful for the community stepping up to help support them during this difficult time.
