Point Defiance Park stabbing victim saved by man & woman who kicked suspect in the head
Couple saves woman from attacker with a kick to the head
The couple told FOX 13 that the man was bent over the woman on the side of the trail with her body partially in the brush. Once he made a motion, as if he would stab her again, they knew they had to jump in and take action.
TACOMA, Wash. - Two heroes who helped to save a woman's life after she was stabbed in Point Defiance Park in Tacoma are sharing their story.
When they went for a walk at Point Defiance Park at around 1 p.m. last Saturday, they never imagined they'd wind up saving a woman's life.
"We weren’t sure what we were hearing, and so we started walking towards it," they said after hearing a woman yell "Someone help me!"
"As we got closer, there was a man straddling a woman on the trail," said the witness said.
"Initially, my first thought when I ran up was ‘just get his attention on me, get his attention off of her and onto me,’" said the woman.
The couple told FOX 13 that the man was bent over the woman on the side of the trail with her body partially in the brush. Once he made a motion, as if he would stab her again, they knew they had to jump in and take action.
Manhunt continues for stranger accused of stabbing woman on Tacoma Point Defiance Park trail
The manhunt continues for the stranger who stabbed a woman in Point Defiance Park in Tacoma in what appears to be a random attack Saturday.
"The first thought was to just run up and knock him off of her, but as we got around 15 feet away, it became clear he had some sort of blade," said the man.
The woman, who also had medical training, could see the victim bleeding from the face and neck.
"At that point, both the blood and the knife became more visible," she said. "I was kind of getting ready for a football tackle, but I stopped very quickly when I recognized both of those things and realized the situation was a lot more dangerous than what we thought initially."
Suddenly, the man made a motion as if he was going to stab her again. The woman's 15 years of martial arts training kicked in.
"Thankfully, the muscle memory was there, so that really helped," she said.
The woman says when he looked down, that was her "window" of opportunity and used a well-placed kick to clock him in the head.
"Once he took his attention off of me and I saw his hand head back towards her upper body, that’s when I took a step forward and kicked him in the head, and he staggered off her and ran off," she said.
They credit at least three others in the rescue, including a man who called 911 and a woman who wrapped a sweatshirt around the victim's wounds.
"Everyone who encountered the circumstance tried to help. We are not outliers," said the man.
"We love the city, and we hope people will look out for each other. That’s all that really matters," said the woman.
Tacoma police say that the victim was stable after being hospitalized.
The suspect is estimated to be in his late 20s to 30s with a thin build, with a possible goatee and Afro-style hair that stands several inches off his head. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
You can leave an anonymous tip on the P3 Tips app or call 1-800-222-TIPS.