Man Stabbed in Brea Fight Dies; His Attacker Flees
A La Habra man died early Tuesday morning after being stabbed during a fight in a dirt field, police said.
Manuel Velazquez, 41, was stabbed in the abdomen during the fight with another man in the 100 block of North Brea Boulevard, police said. His attacker remains at large.
Police found Velazquez lying face down in the dirt shortly before 9 p.m. Monday. He was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died of his wounds at 2:32 a.m., said La Habra Police Detective Dan Valenzuela.
“There was a verbal altercation that turned into a fight that turned into a stabbing,” Valenzuela said. “We don’t think the victim knew the suspect before. It appears that it was just strangers passing in the dark.”
A friend of Velazquez, who was not identified, witnessed the incident and was also stabbed during the fight, but he suffered only minor injuries, Valenzuela said.
Valenzuela said the victim, who worked as a laborer, lived with relatives and came to the United States from Mexico more than 10 years ago.
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