PALM SPRINGS, Fla. — A man is accused of stabbing and biting a victim at a South Florida convenience store on Sunday, authorities said.
According to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Jose Juan Miranda, 43, who records show was born in Tampa but had a North Carolina driver’s license, was arrested Sunday and charged with one count of first-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon.
According to the sheriff’s office, the alleged attack occurred at around 12 p.m. EST Sunday at a Cumberland Farms store at 2700 S. Military Trail in Palm Springs, WPEC-TV reported.
The victim was pumping gasoline when Miranda allegedly approached him from behind and stabbed him multiple times with a knife, according to WPTV.
Police said the victim attempted to run from the scene but fell, WPEC reported. Miranda then allegedly stabbed the man in the arms, face and legs and bit the man in the shoulder, according to the television station.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the victim said that Miranda told him that he “was going to kill him today.”
A witness, Lynn Segebart, 61, saw the attack and ran over to help and disarmed Miranda. Segebart was also allegedly bitten by the suspect, the affidavit stated.
“I was on his back,” Segebart told WPTV. “As I was holding the knife down, he started biting me. Unfortunately, I had to soften him up by headbutting him a couple times.”
Segebart suffered a knife wound to his finger and was bitten on the arm but declined to press charges, police said.
Store surveillance footage showed Segebart taking the knife from Miranda and tossing it to the ground, WPEC reported.
Segebart was treated by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue at the scene, WPBF-TV reported. The stabbing victim was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach, according to the television station.
“I really didn’t feel it,” Segebart told WPTV about his injuries. “I’m just, you know, glad I was there for him.”
Miranda is being held in the main detention center at the Palm Beach County Jail without bail, online records show.