Fort Lauderdale Police said they’re searching for two suspects who robbed a parking lot valet attendant and left him stabbed and bleeding on the sidewalk on Memorial Day.
The two men can be seen in surveillance video casually walking down the street moments before they robbed Luis Alberto Valdez, 53, Fort Lauderdale Police spokeswoman Det. DeAnna Greenlaw said.
The incident occurred Monday at about 5:05 p.m. in the parking lot to the rear of 320 Southwest 2nd St. in the arts and entertainment district, according to police.
"He was just sitting there doing his job,” Greenlaw said.
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The suspects went into the parking lot armed with a knife and demanded that the valet give them his wallet, police said.
"The one suspect told the other one, ‘Stab him, stab him.’ We believe it was because maybe he was taking too much time to get the wallet out, it’s broad daylight, maybe the suspects became frustrated with the victim,” Greenlaw said.
A security camera in a nearby alley behind the Dubliner bar captured the next scene. Seconds after a worker walked by, the two suspects came running back in the opposite direction, going south on Southwest 3rd Avenue. They left their victim bleeding on the sidewalk, according to police, but a woman who saw Valdez lying there immediately called 911 and helped stop his bleeding with his shirt. He was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where he is recovering, police said.
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They described one suspect as a black man in his 20s, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build, who was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts and possibly was carrying a dark backpack.
The second suspect was a black man in his 20s, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet 1 inch tall with a thin build, who was wearing a black T-shirt and black athletic shorts, police said.
Authorities ask anyone with information on the case to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS, or Det. Justin Moody at 954-828-4018.
The attack on the valet hit the servers and bartenders in the area like a punch in the gut.
"I think it sucks,” said Francis More of the Fat Cats Saloon. “He's a harmless guy, he’s quiet, he’s not a fighter, he's not someone who would argue with anybody. He doesn't deserve what happened to him."
Josh Neves of the Dubliner had a hard time believing the stabbing happened in broad daylight.
"It's crazy to me that they could just do that in the middle of the day with all the people around, we have cops here all the time, it's just pretty intense, it makes you think,” he said.
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Photo Credit: NBC 6 South Florida