A security guard who was one of two people stabbed in a series of assaults in Downtown San Diego says he still has nightmares about the attack.
Fredrick Aryee, 72, said he noticed the man come through the loading dock area of the Emerald Plaza building he was guarding Jan. 23. He asked the man what he was doing and told him to leave.
"He didn’t answer, pulled a knife and charged," Aryee recalled.
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“I started blocking with my prosthetic,” Aryee said, showing his prosthetic right arm he used to defend himself. “I blocked him to a point where I had to strike him.”
The former Merchant Marine says he knocked the suspect, 25-year-old Christopher Torres, to the ground but fell as he raced upstairs to get reinforcements.
“He came behind me and stabbed me, jabs me and, once again, I used the same arm to knock him off … I grabbed a chair and by that point, I’m ready to launch a chair in his chest if he comes closer. I told him ‘If you come closer, I have to kill you,‘” warned Aryee.
Aryee spent days in the hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries for seven stab wounds to his chest, back, neck and jaw.
Though a bag of pain medication is by his side, it's the memory of that near-fatal night that's hardest to heal.
“I still have nightmares, the moment I close my eyes, I see the knife, so something needs to be done," said Aryee.
Torres was arrested and pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including attempted murder. He is accused of assaulting six people, within minutes, including Aryee and another 69-year-old stabbing victim, who survived.
Police say the crime spree started around 5:30 a.m. at the 7-Eleven on West C Street, then continued outside to Sabrina's Café, The Westin Hotel Building and outside neighboring Guild hotel.
“Somebody like that doesn't belong to society," said Aryee.
Though he says he’s in a lot of pain and can’t breathe fully, the former tennis instructor is hoping to one day get back on the court and get back to his protecting San Diegans.
