A California man is recovering at a hospital after suffering serious stab wounds he got while protecting a woman from a knife-wielding attacker inside a Bakersfield Starbucks this past weekend.
The chaos unfolded Sunday after a man with a large knife pursued a woman into the coffee shop with a knife. Most patrons fled when they realized the man had a weapon, but friends of 27-year-old Blaine Hodge said he stayed behind to save the woman.
“While everyone was running toward the exit, [Hodge] ran between the attacker and the woman,” one friend, who was also inside the Starbucks at the time, told local station ABC 23.
As Hodge tried defending the woman being assaulted, the suspect then turned on him, hitting him multiple times with what witnesses described as a possible machete. The grisly attack left both the female victim and Hodge with severe stab wounds, police said. The Bakersfield Californian reported that both were rushed to the hospital, where they were initially listed in critical but stable condition.
“To me, [Hodge] was a superhero that day,” a witness to the attack said. “I don’t think anyone could take that away from him today. He’s the star of the day, he helped a woman survive.”
Police say 31-year-old Robert Rivas entered the Starbucks and targeted a woman with whom he was involved in a “dating relationship” with at some point, according to KGET. Rivas tried fleeing, but authorities caught up with him around the corner from the coffee shop and took him into custody.
Now Hodge is recovering in a hospital where doctors are trying to figure out if he’ll lose the use of his right hand, according to a GoFundMe page. So far, the campaign has raised over $4,000.
In a video from his hospital room, Hodge said he’s in good spirits and ready for the long road to recovery ahead.
“Some stuff happened at Starbucks today and there was a person in danger and I couldn’t just let her die, so, here I am,” he said in the video. “I’m okay, it’s still lit, it’s always gonna be lit and I appreciate all your concerns and hopes and prayers that have been going up. I’m gonna make it out of this okay.”
There’s been no word on the female victim.
Watch more in the clip below.
https://www.facebook.com/faheemah.salahuddin/videos/10155591922251479/
