Vancouver coffee shop stabbing victim speaks out about his terrifying ordeal
The bandages are a painful reminder of an experience Miguel Angel Zepeda Machorro wishes he could forget. The 25-year-old Mexican man is visiting Vancouver, and was the victim of a vicious attack inside a downtown Tim Hortons last week.
He doesn’t speak English, but, through a translator, he told CTV News about the terrifying ordeal, and how he feared for his life.
"He says he's having a lot of pain around the area where the two stabbings went in on the side and in his arm," said Machorro’s translator. "He feels a lot of anxiety. He feels that when he's outside, he says that he feels somebody's going to attack him in the back. He feels insecure, anywhere he goes."
On Saturday, Jan. 22, Vancouver police say the 25-year-old was rushed to hospital with life-threatening stab wounds. The attack occurred around 6:20 a.m. inside the Tim Hortons at Harbour Centre, near Seymour and West Hastings streets. The victim, a newcomer to Canada, was waiting in line when the suspect approached from behind and repeatedly stabbed him in the back and shoulder before running out of the store. Police took the rare step of releasing surveillance video of the attack, due to their increasing worry about the public’s safety.
Thanks to a number of tips from the public, Vancouver police say they made an arrest in the case on Tuesday, Jan. 25, shortly after 4 p.m. near Granville and Helmcken streets. Twenty-seven-year-old David Richard Morin has been charged with one count of aggravated assault. He remains in custody.
"He says he hopes he's not let go, to be free out with everybody else,” Machorro’s translator said. “It happened to him it can happen to anybody else as well."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical bills totalling in the thousands of dollars, as well as other expenses, to help his recovery.
"He remembers going into the Tim Hortons,” said Machorro’s translator. “He says he remembers lining up and a person walked by on his side and then all of a sudden he fell. Then, after he watched the video he realized it didn't happen in his mind the way he was thinking.”
With no family in Vancouver, Machorro says he is thankful for all of the support and messages he has been getting from the community. Doctors say he is incredibly lucky to have even survived. They told him if the knife was two centimetres in a different direction, there’s a very good chance he might have died. Doctors say his physical wounds should take up to two months to heal, but the attack, of course, has had severe negative implications on his mental health.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.