One man died after he was stabbed Monday morning near North Sixth and East Santa Clara streets, according to a San Jose Police Department news release.
Police responded at approximately 5 a.m. and found a man with at least one stab wound a block away from San Jose State in front of the 27 North apartment complex, a popular housing option for SJSU students.
The man was transported by ambulance to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries shortly after arriving, according to the SJPD news release.
No suspects have been identified or arrested and the name of the victim will be released once the victim’s next of kin has been contacted.
This incident marks San Jose’s 29th homicide this year following a recent case last week where two people died and five people were wounded in a shooting on Eighth Street last Tuesday.
Brianna, who didn’t feel comfortable using her last name, has been a resident at 27 North for about two months and said she woke up to the sound of people fighting. She then looked out her window to see four men beating up another man.
“There was a lot of anger,” Brianna said. “[The assaulters] were calling him names and the guy was just like, you know, tucking himself in.”
She said she opened up her window and shouted to leave the guy alone. The men then hopped into a van and as the man was getting up from the street, the driver ran into him. The men in the van then sped off.
Brianna said she saw the victim in the street after the men left.
“The man, he got up, he was bleeding everywhere,” she said. “He was yelling for help, saying he was dying.”
A sophomore aerospace engineering student and 27 North resident, who wished to remain anonymous because he didn’t feel comfortable using his name, also said he saw what happened.
“I was trying to sleep and then I heard a bunch of screaming so I looked out and . . . there’s three guys in all black and this dude in a white shirt and they’re beating him up,” he said.
He said he isn’t really concerned for his safety but he will avoid going out at 5 a.m.
When he first heard the fight, he thought it was an altercation between two homeless men, which he said happens often in the area.
“At first, I didn’t know he got stabbed,” said the aerospace engineering student. “I thought they were just beating him until I saw the blood everywhere and him rolling on the ground.”
Bryant Jefferson, a sophomore kinesiology and economics major at the College of San Mateo, said he was in the building at the time and believes that the violence around San Jose is linked to people staying at home during the pandemic.
“Everyone’s kind of cooped up and you know, it’s kind of a lot of tension right now whether it’s loss of hope or not knowing what’s next and stuff,” Jefferson said. “But safety wise, I mean, it’s scary.”
Steven Hoffman, a San Jose resident and army veteran, has lived next to 27 North for seven years and said this is the second or third time that police have blocked off the street in the time he’s lived here. He said this stabbing didn’t change how he views safety in the area.
He said that when he first moved to the area, he thought it would be quiet and safe because he’s across the street from Horace Mann Elementary School. However, he said that since then, he feels that police officers only respond to an incident if it’s violent.
“With all the transients that have mental issues that hang out just in this area, it never really felt safe,” Hoffman said.
He said he has called the police over concerns about homeless people in the area before, but that police don’t always respond.
“Why do we bother having police officers if they’re not going to respond to the citizens who pay their salary?” Hoffman said.
Brianna said that she had taken measures to protect herself since moving into the downtown area.
“You need protection, some sort of protection to live around here,” Brianna said. “My boyfriend got me pepper spray as soon as he found out [the stabbing happened] over here.”
Hoffman produced an American flag knife when asked about his own safety.
“If we have to protect ourselves, why are we paying [police officers]?” Hoffman said.
Peak Campus, the company that owns the 27 North apartment complex, has not released a statement regarding the incident by the time of publication.
