Westminster Officer Stops Knife Attack, Arrests 2 Men

WESTMINSTER —  A man who was stabbed and beaten by two assailants Sunday morning while a crowd watched, was saved by a Westminster police officer who happened to see the crowd outside of an apartment complex and stopped to check.

While on patrol, Officer Bill Collins was driving in the 8400 block of 15th Street and saw a man wildly swinging large carving knives at a man who was down on the ground trying to block the slashes with his hands, Police Sgt. Bob Amren said.

Collins approached the attacker with his gun drawn and told him to drop his knives, but the man continued to swing them toward the wounded man. The officer pushed the victim out of the way and again told the attacker to put down his knives. The man came within three feet of the officer before he finally released the weapons, Amren said.

While arresting Jorge Feliciano Gomez, 22, of Santa Ana on suspicion of attempted murder, Collins was told by witnesses that there was another man who had earlier participated in the attack but was hiding in the crowd. Miguel Ortega Garcia, 30, of Santa Ana was also arrested but on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

Ignacio Ayala Jiminez, 25, of Westminster suffered stab wounds to the chest and stomach.

Jiminez told police the trouble started when he asked the men to move their car so he could move his car.