Victim answered knock at front door of Church Street apartment
and was stabbed by an unknown assailant
Gilroy – Police are searching for a motive in the stabbing of an 83-year-old man at his home Sunday night that has neighbors – who believe the man with the knife may have had an eye on the victim – on edge.
The elderly man answered a knock at his Church Street home and was stabbed in the abdomen after opening the door shortly after 9:30pm. The unidentified suspect fled the scene of 7190 Church St. before police arrived.
“It’s very, very unusual to have something like this,” said Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Svardal.
Police are uncertain of a motive and are investigating whether or not the stabbing is a case of mistaken identity or if the man was targeted.
“We do not have the ‘why’ this occurred,” Svardal said. “We’ll be able to figure out more eventually. (The victim) has not been able to provide us much of anything.”
Police do not believe the elderly man has any active restraining orders against, or made any recent calls to the station with concerns about neighbors.
He was airlifted to a San Jose area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
He was not alone when the attack occurred, police said. However, neither the victim nor the witness, who police identified as the victim’s wife, could provide a detailed description for police. The suspect did not enter the apartment or make any demands before the attack.
The victim’s apartment is part of a home converted into a few housing units. Christmas lights decorate the first story roof and the lawn is neatly trimmed. A brick and wrought-iron fence surround the sky blue home.
The welcoming exterior reveals nothing of the stabbing less than 24 hours beforehand. The incident has left neighbors rattled and looking for answers.
“He’s a nice guy, he talks to everybody,” said Church Street resident Claudia Garcia. “You can’t go outside … It’s scary.”
Garcia’s husband and brother-in-law were outside working on their cars when their neighbor was stabbed, she said.
“My husband said (the suspect) was trying to break into the house. They said that they broke the back door,” Garcia said.
Police, however, could not confirm whether someone attempted to break into the home.
According to neighbors the area is frequented by police responding to shootings, robberies and gang-related incidents.
“It’s not safe,” Garcia said matter-of-factly.
Daniel Nunez who has lived beside the 83-year-old for the past 11 years believes someone may have been eyeing the man for sometime.
He sat outside on his lawn Monday afternoon waiting for his neighbor to return from the hospital.
“That guy’s been here forever,” he said. “Most likely somebody must have been watching him. Maybe they thought he had money.”
According to Nunez, the neighborhood is plagued with problems stemming from drug users and gangbangers.
“Everybody keeps to themselves,” he said. “And then when something actually happens, they really keep quiet.”
He is hoping police step up patrols in the areas and search the alleyways surrounding the apartment complexes.
While police do not have any suspects, they do not believe the public should be worried about similar attacks at this point.
Anyone with information may contact Detective Dan Zen at 846-0350. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call 846-0330.
