Oct 8, 2009 1:17 pm US/Eastern
Good Samaritan Killed Trying To Stop Brutal Attack
Courageous Neighbor Makes Ultimate Sacrifice, Dies Helping Victim Of Violent Domestic Dispute
NYPD Kills Dagger-Wielding 21-Year-Old
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Marco Betancourt lost his life, selflessly trying to stop one neighbor from stabbing his mother's boyfriend with a medieval-like dagger.
CBS
A courageous neighbor makes the ultimate sacrifice; a Good Samaritan, stabbed to death, while trying to stop a man with a dagger during a violent assault.
Neighbors say the Good Samaritan, his wife and 2-year-old son had moved into a building in upper Manhattan from a shelter in Brooklyn just a few months ago. They say Marco Betancourt was always helping his neighbors at their building on 162 W. 144th Street.
That's why they weren't surprised to hear that Betancourt lost his life, selflessly trying to stop one neighbor from stabbing another, his mother's boyfriend, with a medieval-like dagger.
"We're still in shock. It's heartbreaking. I didn't go to work today. It's just too painful. I just can't describe it," said neighbor Esperanza Ramirez.
The violent spree started just before 7 p.m. Police got a 9-1-1 call and found 50-year-old Charles Davis outside on the street, stabbed three times.
When they went inside, officers said they found a crazed 21-year-old Carlton Lewis in the stairwell, holding the blood-soaked dagger. When he was ordered to drop the dagger, police say he refused and was shot and killed by police.
It wasn't until later that police found the body of Betancourt, upstairs in his fourth floor apartment, with his two-year-old son nearby, unharmed.
Ramirez said Betancourt often helped her with her 10-year-old son, taking care of their dog and giving a fish to her son Miguel.
"He always said, if you need anything, let me know," she said.
"He was really kind to me. He gave me a fish. He died helping other people," said Miguel.
The victim who suffered stab wounds is in stable condition at Harlem Hospital.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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