Man charged in stabbing death of Good Samaritan who tried to stop attack on teen
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — A Berwyn man has been charged in the stabbing death of Humberto Guzman, a good Samaritan who tried to stop an attack on a teen in a Berwyn grocery store Friday.
Fernando Barrios is charged with first degree murder and attempted murder in two stabbings that took place inside and outside Valle’s Produce.
Berwyn Police say Barrios accused a teenage girl of cutting in line at the grocery store and stabbed Guzman to death Friday morning after the good Samaritan tried to intervene when the attacker began punching the girl and her mother.
Witnesses told Berwyn police the girl was visiting her mother, a cashier at Valle’s Produce, at 6323 W. Cermak Rd., on Friday morning, when she asked her mother the price of a bottle of water, according to Berwyn Police Chief Michael Cimaglia.
That’s when police say Barrios accused the girl of cutting in line and began swearing at her. Police said he then punched the girl several times in the face, and when her mother came out from behind the checkout counter to protect her, he punched the mother as well.
Guzman, another customer, tried to intervene and protect the mother and daughter. Police said that’s when the attacker began walking towards the exit before suddenly stopping, pulling out a knife and attacking the good Samaritan, stabbing him several times in the chest and torso.
Police say Barrios fled the store through the main entrance and ran east on Cermak Road. The cashier and several other people chased him into an alley to Cuyler Avenue where a second good Samaritan, who police identified as Kevin Landau, tried to stop him. Barrios is accused of stabbing him in the torso.
Police said the attacker kept running south on Cuyler Avenue where officers saw him jump over a fence into a yard on the 2300 block of Cuyler Avenue. Police were able to arrest him without further incident.
Paramedics took Guzman, 32, to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Landau suffered minor injuries and was expected to be released from the hospital later on Friday.
Guzman’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for his wife and daughter.
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