Good Samaritans Describe Helping Stabbed Man, Holding Suspect for Police

Witnesses Sunday told Patch about watching a fight at a Belmont Shore restaurant become a stabbing, and patrons rushing to aid the victim while other good Samaritans held the suspect for police.

Long Beach Police Department Sgt. Aaron Eaton said he had no updated medical information on the victim, who was in critical but stable condition earlier Sunday. He also said the officer response was three minutes after the first report of the stabbing.

Several bystanders, including an off-duty Hermosa Beach paramedic, rushed to help the victim, a man whom Long Beach police did not name. At the same time, at least one other man tried to break up the two-man fight then held down the suspect for police, his wife said. She refers to a reader's photo shown here, and in a comment on another story, described children at the time being in Sushi on Fire at Second Street and Pomona Avenue.

 "We were in the restaurant at the time of this incident," she wrote. "That is my husband in this photo (in brown ... the man that stabbed the other was not bothering any of the children in the restaurant (earlier witness report); it was a dispute between the 2 patrons.

"The man was kicked out of the restaurant and came back. Then a big fight between the 2 patrons spilled out into the street. My husband went to break up what he thought to be a fight. As he went to restrain the man he heard someone shout, 'He has a knife!' By the time he could grab the suspect he had already stabbed the man 3-5 times," she continued.

My husband held the man down by the neck and wrist for 10 minutes until the police arrived. One of the waitresses grabbed the open knife. How sad that a family of four just wanted to have sushi and had to witness a scary/gory act. I pray that the man survived. His knife wounds were very deep."

A resident who lives nearby called the above woman's husband brave and noted more people might have been injured had he not tried to help. 
 
Carlos Lopez, an off-duty Hermosa Beach firefighter, said he and his girlfriend were walking into Sushi on Fire in what was the immediate aftermath of the stabbing and rushed to aid the victim. Here is his account:

"i was the unidentified man holding pressure to the multiple stab wounds. I'm a firefighter paramedic from Hermosa Beach. I was walking into Sushi on Fire with my girlfriend when we saw the commotion. People were running in the restaurant to grab cloth napkins to use as dressings for wounds. I approached some of the people attempting to calm victim down and identified myself as an off duty medic and initiated wound management until LBFD arrived to care and transport the victim.

He added, "I hope the stab victim recovers from this unfortunate traumatic incident. Thank you to everyone who stepped in to help mitigate the incident."