Physician stabbed by his patient

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — A doctor was listed in critical condition Tuesday after a 72-year-old patient walked into his Broadway medical office and stabbed him several times, police said. The patient, Mike Trieu, of Monterey, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the incident, which occurred at about 2 p.m. inside of Dr. Mohamed Latif’s office at Heartbeat Cardiovascular Medical Group on Broadway, Glendale Police Officer John Balian said.

“[Trieu] was in the doctor’s office in one of the examination rooms, and as soon as doctor enters, he begins stabbing the doctor — multiple times,” Balian said.

As Latif was being stabbed, Zohrab Arakelian, a physician who has an office in the same building, said he pulled Trieu off of Latif.

“I went inside and saw the guy,” he said. “I grabbed him.”

Police were on the scene less than a minute after receiving the call and Trieu was arrested, Balian said.

Latif was taken to USC Medical Center.

Police did not know the motive behind the stabbing, Balian said.

Latif had treated Trieu before, Arakelian said.After the incident, police detained several employees and witnesses in the center’s parking lot to clarify the events.

“We are still working to determine what happened,” Balian said.

Though police had no official statement on what weapon was used in the stabbing, Balian said Trieu brought the weapon with him into the office.

Some employees who work near the center said they saw Trieu walking down the street toward the hospital before the stabbing with a brown bag in his hand.

Several onlookers lined the 600 block of Broadway as the police conducted their investigation, and many patients of Heartbeat arrived for their scheduled appointments only to find a locked gate.

“I feel terrible, these are very, very good people,” patient George Quintero said. “They always help you.”

He said the stabbed doctor had performed an operation on him in the past and was concerned for the doctor’s welfare.

Cindy Manent and her husband, Armando, were on the way to an appointment with another doctor in the medical group when they heard the news.

“It’s frightening,” Cindy Manent said. “You can’t go anywhere anymore. A doctor’s office is supposed to be the safest place for us to go.”