SAN ANTONIO – What began as a normal work day for Chris Caruso took a very different turn as he approached his usual downtown bus stop around 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Within a split second of arriving in the 900 block of W. Martin Street, Caruso had to go into life-saving mode and help a man who had been attacked.
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“He was leaned over right here on the corner,” Caruso said, pointing down the street. “(The victim) said, ‘Brother, help me.’ I said, ‘What’s going on?’ He said, ‘Man, I got stabbed.’”
Caruso ran inside a nearby clinic that he mistook for an emergency room. A staff member asked if he had called 911.
“I got on the phone with 911, ran back. I just happened to have some gloves on me, put them on. They told me to keep pressure on it, on the wound,” he said.
Police and paramedics arrived within minutes, Caruso said, and took over helping the victim, who appeared to be badly hurt.
“Whenever EMS got here and they lifted his shirt up, he had lost a tremendous amount of blood,” he said.
The victim, who police said is in his late 20s, was rushed to a hospital for treatment. Officers at the scene said he appeared to be in serious condition.
Caruso is still trying to make sense of what he called a “crazy” situation.
He said he is glad he was there in time to help even if it made him late for work.
Caruso said the victim told him he was attacked by someone who tried to rob him inside a vacant building.
Police said they are still trying to sort out what happened because the victim was not being forthcoming with them.
They said he did mention that he was stabbed after he refused to hand over his bag to another man.
So far, police have not made any arrests.