HCC officer stabbed at SW Houston Walmart

A Houston Community College officer was stabbed while working as security at a southeast Houston Walmart on April 28, 2015. A Houston Community College officer was stabbed while working as security at a southeast Houston Walmart on April 28, 2015. Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close HCC officer stabbed at SW Houston Walmart 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Bystanders became heroes early Tuesday morning when they subdued a man as he viciously stabbed a Houston Community College police officer at a Walmart in southeast Houston.

The incident happened about 2 a.m. inside the store at 9555 South Post Oak Boulevard near Meyer Park Boulevard, said Kese Smith, spokesman for the Houston Police Department.

Smith said the officer was in uniform working as a security guard at the store. She was sitting on a stool near the registers when the man walked up to her, pulled out a large hunting knife and began stabbing her. He apparently said nothing to her or anyone else as he attacked her.

Customers and employees who saw the attack, Smith said, rushed to the officer's aid. They stopped the violent assault, took the knife away from the man and pulled him off the officer. During the struggle, he tried to grab the officer's gun, but the good Samaritans prevented him from snatching it.

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Smith said the witnesses subdued the suspect and placed the officer's handcuffs on him. When HPD officers arrived they took him into custody.

The HCC officer, whose name has not been released, was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital. She had several stab wounds in her torso and arms and is in critical condition.

Smith said the bystanders showed great courage in helping stop the attack.

"Those are the heroes here," Smith said. "They had a choice. They could've run, but they chose to intervene."

Smith said investigators are interviewing the suspect to try to determine what sparked the stabbing. He said it was not known if the officer and suspect knew each other.