San Diego

Police Search for Suspect in ‘Brutal' Stabbing in Hillcrest

The extent of the man's injuries is unknown at this time.

A man who was stabbed in the head and neck after an altercation outside a McDonald's in Hillcrest Sunday may not survive his injuries. 

The 51-year-old man was stabbed four to five times around 7:20 p.m. at the corner of Essex and Richmond streets following an altercation between two men, San Diego police Lt. Andra Brown said.

He was transported to an area hospital with extensive injuries and was "barely in stable condition," Brown said. 

Brown said surveillance video has provided SDPD with clues about the attack, but asked anyone with information to come forward. 

"If anybody has any information, we’d like to get this guy off the street, it was a pretty brutal attack," Brown said. "The sun was still up, it’s not a quiet neighborhood, there’s a lot of people around, so we’d like to get this guy off the street."

The suspect was described as a clean-cut man who was wearing a black baseball cap, black and grey jacket, light grey sweat pants and black tennis shoes at the time of the incident. He was last seen walking westbound on Essex Street, she said.

ABLE helicopter was called to look for the suspect but the man was not found. 

Residents in the area told NBC 7 they were scared because of what happened. Jamie Lapierre, who's lived in the area for eight years, said crime and homelessness in the area have risen in recent years.

"Every year it's getting worse," he said. "This is a growing concern."

When the stabbing occurred, Lapierre was in his home and did not know what the commotion was about. He thought it was a car accident. 

"This is definitely not what I expected but it's not shocking anymore," he said. "And that's the sad part."

Donald Vella said he was scared that it happened in Hillcrest. He was performing in a show near where the stabbing took place. He said Hillcrest is a friendly and welcoming neighborhood.

"This is our neighborhood, we're here every day and it's sad something like this happened," Vella said.

It was unclear what led to the brutal stabbing but police do not believe the suspect was a transient.

Anyone with information about the stabbing was asked to call the San Diego Police Department or CrimeStoppers.

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