Someone’s A Little Stab-Happy

CONTENT WARNING: Violent injury

I work for a general contractor as an on-the-ground man for several small city projects. I am conducting a lock-out tag-out check when one of my people comes up to me rather slowly. 

Staff: “Sir?”

Me: “Yeah?”

Staff: “I might need to go to the hospital.”

I turn to face him. He looks totally fine, isn’t showing any sign of injury, and is standing straight up. 

Me: “Are you not feeling well?”

Staff: “No, sir. I think I have been stabbed.”

Me: “What?”

Staff: “There was a man over by the generator; I think he was stealing fuel. I stopped him and spoke to him, and I think he stabbed me when I turned around.”

At this point, I have pulled out my mobile to call 911, but I am still confused. 

Me: “You think he stabbed you?”

Staff: “Yeah. Actually, can you check?”

This man turns around and my heart falls out of my chest. Lodged in his lower back is what appears to be a jagged piece of metal with an electrical-taped handle. Blood has run into and stained both his high-vis work shirt and the vest he has on. 

Staff: “Did he get me?”

911 was called immediately. It was a few days later that I got to have a talk with the staffer. He told me he felt the blade go in, but after that, nothing at all. To this day, we don’t know if that was purely due to adrenaline or some other bodily reaction to the stabbing. 

The individual that had stabbed him was captured on the cameras another vendor used to monitor their onsite battery boxes. He was quickly identified by police and arrested. 

I do know that he was let out again and returned to our worksite. He ended up messing with another vendor and tried to stab their employee, as well. Fortunately, the employee was no pushover and ended up breaking the man’s arm and slamming his face into the side of a Toyota Tacoma so hard he indented the bedside. 

The police responding had a laugh and told the employee that his actions would be considered self-defense, and the man was arrested again. This time, he never returned.