It's been a tragic week among tragic weeks in Los Angeles, with numerous senseless killings seen across the county.
In the early hours of Saturday, police arrived at the scene of a reported fight at Alexandria and Sixth Street in Koreatown. Upon arrival, the officers found a stabbing victim, who was said to have been trying to break up a fight stemming from a dispute between a group of individuals outside the 7-11 there across from popular neighborhood restaurants including Escala, Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, and Toe Bang Cafe. The man was rushed to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.
A companion of the stabbing victim was also beaten up—kicked and hit, according to NBC—necessitating a trip to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Following the incident, investigators tracked a suspect vehicle to an Echo Park address, where two 26-year-old men, Josue Alegria and Damian Dehorney, were arrested on suspicion of attacking the man who lived. The next day, another 26-year-old, Jose Garibay, turned himself in to police as the person who stabbed and killed the good Samaritan trying to broker peace and was booked on suspicion of murder.
The slain man has not been identified and the cause of the initial argument is currently unknown. CBSLA reports that the victim was in his thirties and hailed from the South Bay.
John Valdez, a neighbor at the crime scene, said, “This guy was trying to separate them and he became a victim... Very sad.”
These days, it takes an act of rare courage to intervene in a strangers' brawl, instead of say, standing around and recording it on your phone. From what we read here, it appears the victim may have had nothing but good intentions to stop a group of strangers, or a friend, from being badly hurt. Sadly, he paid with his life.
Scenes of tension can erupt quickly into violence, particularly when booze mingles with the witching hour. As always, we urge our readers to be extra cautious out there, even in less crazy times, whether just living your life at home or in a high-profile destination, working your job in public, going out on the town, or simply edging closer to a potentially volatile situation. Especially now, as violence and mayhem appear to be throttling the streets of Los Angeles much harder than usual.
