A New Mexico police officer who was stabbed by a homeless man with a lengthy rap sheet just before a brave witness fired their gun and killed the suspect. Officer Jonah Hernandez, 35, was killed in what cops have called an ‘unprovoked attack’ on Sunday around 5pm as he responded to a trespassing call at the 300 block of South Valley Drive in Las Cruces.
According to Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story, when Hernandez arrived at the scene, the suspect, Armando Silva, 29, ‘immediately attacked him with a large kitchen knife.’ After Silva stabbed the officer, he proceeded to go after a bystander who witnessed the fatal attack. As he approached, the witness fired his gun and killed Silva.
‘Office Jonah Hernandez was a compassionate and dedicated officer who was out doing his job while most of us were watching the Super Bowl,’ Story said in a press conference on Tuesday. ‘This sudden and unprovoked attack took the life of an officer, a husband, a father, a brother, son, a friend, and a great young man.’
After the witness fired his gun, he used Hernandez’s radio to call for help before he was transported to Mountain View Regional Medical Center where he died from his injuries. ‘For no reason whatsoever, Silva killed Officer Hernandez,’ Story said.
A spokesman with the department told ABC7 that Hernandez was the first officer killed in the line of duty in its 96-year history.