Lubbock Police said a Central Lubbock stabbing that sent one man to the hospital may be connected to an arson that was reported hours later.
Officers responded to the area of 31st and Indiana just before 6:00 p.m. Tuesday.
“The caller told dispatch a man who had been stabbed came to his door seeking help. When police arrived they found two people rendering aid to the victim who was sitting in the middle of 31st Street,” an LPD statement said.
Police said the victim, 23-year-old Paublo Reyes, was stabbed multiple times and was taken to Covenant Medical Center with “moderate injuries.” The statement from LPD indicated the case was listed as an Aggravated Robbery.
Police said that Reyes approached several neighbors homes after he was stabbed looking for help, he eventually ended up in the middle of the street where officers found several neighbors tending to him. Tuesday blood stains were visible along the 3400 block of 31st street.
“We put some towels on the guy so he’d calm down, he was screaming,” recalled neighbor Bo Arnold who rushed outside when he realized there was a man bleeding in the street. Arnold said that Reyes appeared to have a stab wound to his diaphragm, his hand, and to his back.
“He was screaming for his dear life and saying he got stabbed multiple times, just something you don’t want to hear, it freaked me out a little bit,” said another neighbor who wished not to be identified.
The neighbors were both shocked and upset that the stabbing had occurred in front of their homes.
“The victim told police the two suspects were riding in the car with him and told him to pull over,” police said. “The victim advised the suspects then stabbed him and fled the scene in the victim’s car. The suspects have not been located.”
Police said the victim’s car may have been a Ford Fusion. LPD added that Reyes is not a resident of the neighborhood where he was stabbed and the car was set on fire.
Emergency crews were also dispatched to 31st and Knoxville, just two blocks away, about six hours later, for a report of a car fire.
“This vehicle had previously been reported stolen out of Shallowater,” LPD said. “It was also determined this vehicle was possibly the Ford Fusion referenced in the stabbing a few hours earlier.”
An investigator with the Lubbock Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire was believed to be arson.
Both the stabbing and arson were under investigation Tuesday morning.
As of Tuesday evening, Reyes was in good condition at Covenant.
