SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A man escorting his girlfriend through a notoriously high-crime San Francisco neighborhood was stabbed several times after confronting a catcaller.
Ben Schwartz, 31, is still recovering from nine stab wounds after the attack on Nov. 15. In the early morning hours, he walked with his girlfriend and another friend through the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco -- an area called by many one of the worst in the city.
Schwartz told the San Fransisco Gate the three passed an aggressive catcaller several times after Schwartz forgot his wallet, and the man said, "I'll show you how a real man treats a woman," among other more aggressive, vulgar comments.
"I was scared for me. I was scared for my girlfriend. I told her to stay on one side of the street, and I went to tell him to stop," Schwartz said.
Schwartz said the suspect followed them across the street, and in the ensuing confrontation the man revealed a blade and stabbed Schwartz nine times all over his body. One of his lungs was punctured and wounds on his back and neck narrowly missed his spinal cord. Lacerations on his arms would require over 100 stitches.
Schwartz said the man left the scene in a silver sedan, and police have yet to make an arrest.
Later on that same day, another man -- 25-year-old Isaac Cruz -- was found with stab wounds on a sidewalk in the Tenderloin neighborhood and was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital.
