Police, family seeks answers in pawn shop stabbing

When he recovers from his stabbing injuries, a Marietta pawn shop employee will have himself to thank.

"By all rights, he should be dead," Marietta police Detective Matthew Parker told the AJC Monday. "That's got to be one of the toughest dudes I know."

The victim, whose name was not released at the request of police and family members, is expected to recover from the multiple stab wounds he received from a man attempting to rob the shop.

Now, his family and police are asking for the public's help in finding the suspect responsible.

The suspect, wearing a woman's wig and a knit cap, walked into The Hock Shop at Cobb Parkway and Gresham Road shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday. Marietta investigators said they believe the suspect confronted the store employee right away, and the two struggled before the victim was repeatedly stabbed.

"He waited for the employee to turn his back and then ambushed him," police Officer David Baldwin said.

The suspect ran out of the store, leaving the wig and hat behind, police said. A trail of blood from the front of the store to the back led to a critically injured victim, whose quick actions likely saved his life.

"He used his hands to help himself from bleeding out," Baldwin said.

Despite his injuries, the man was also able to get to the phone and call 911. Officers arrived at the store within minutes, Parker said.

"He was alone, able to collect himself, call 911 and wait," Parker said.

The victim's family members told the AJC the man remained hospitalized Monday afternoon but was expected to survive his injuries, the most serious to his torso.

Detectives hope the victim will be able to provide more details about the attacker, who likely had planned the heist. And police and friends and relatives of the victim hope anyone with information about the suspect will report it.