One San Diego veteran survived the dangers of deployment, only to come home and nearly lose his life protecting a friend.
28-year-old Marine Corps veteran Tim Caudill was stabbed by another man during a fight at The Eagle Bar in North Park on Wednesday.
Caudill, now recovering back at home, said he was stabbed multiple times and came close to losing his life. 29-year-old Homer Rubio was arrested for the crime.
When Caudill jumped in front of his friend Michael Romano, he said Rubio lunged toward him with a knife in hand.
“I think he’s a really good person,” Romano said. “I don’t look at it as heroic, more as someone who is morally a strong person that saw a situation for what it was and reacted to it.”
The attack happened on the same day San Diego Police released data showing violent crime in entertainment districts like North Park, Pacific Beach and East Village rose.
Overall crime in the city is down 13.5 percent.
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Caudill said he hopes what happened to him is a call to action.
“As a society, we need to address mental illness and substance abuse. There are a lot of things we let go untalked about that we shouldn’t, because it doesn’t immediately affect you until the guy at the bar is stabbing you at the bar for no reason,” Caudill said.
The man accused of stabbing Caudill is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.
