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A Glendale, Arizona woman is lucky to be alive. She was repeatedly stabbed and slashed with a box cutter Sunday night while driving home from work.
Her attacker was her 29-year-old son, a struggling junkie addicted to crystal meth.
The wounds on Victoria Mendez’s neck are visible. (Photo: AZ Family)
Thankfully, the woman’s neighbor was close enough to hear her screams and to rescue her from the vicious assault.
The woman recounted the incident to local media, expressing heartfelt gratitude to the neighbor, an armed citizen, who was compelled to use deadly force agains the woman’s son.
“I rolled my passenger window down and I said, ‘Hey Hakeem, what’s up? How are you doing?'” explained the victim, Victoria Mendez. “And he popped his head into my window and he says, ‘I just want to give you a kiss, mama.'”
Mendez saw her son, Hakeem Shawky, on the corner of the street, which is why she stopped the car to greet him. She hadn’t seen Shawky in about three months due to his meth addiction.
“And then he proceeded to get into the car and started stabbing me and slashing at my throat, telling me that he was going to kill me,” Mendez said. “He grabbed within the wound itself that he had created with his bare hands and he started pulling at my esophagus.”
Hakeem Shawky struggled with addiction for 15 years, according to his mother. (Photo: AZ Family)
When the neighbor heard Mendez’s screams, he grabbed a firearm and headed toward the car.
“He (neighbor) said, ‘Stop or I’m going to shoot,'” she recalled. “He (Shawky) wouldn’t stop. He (neighbor) shot him once. It didn’t even phase him, he (Shawky) was so high on drugs. And the second shot I heard, he (Shawky) went down and I was no longer being cut.”
Mendez does not blame the neighbor for killing her son. She is thankful the neighbor saved her life.
“There was nothing else you could have done,” Mendez said in reference to the neighbor. “And as sad as I am to lose my boy, you did the right thing. And I thank you for my life.”
Yet despite the attacke, Mendez is mourning the loss of her son. She said he had struggled with addiction for more than 15 years.
“My son is very gentle and he’s very loving, and he’s a good boy,” Mendez said upon reflecting. “But that thing wasn’t him. I don’t think parents understand what they’re dealing with. It’s a very, very dangerous business. Crystal meth is stealing our kids and turning them into murderers.”
And as I write this the “civilized”world wails about 7 dope dealers made good citizens by 5.56 holes.and we worship meth makers with breaking bad. Says alot for us,,,,,,,
Firearms save lives.
But of course we already knew that.
sad….my sympathy to the family. illegal drugs are slowlin killing our citizens yet many states are slowly allowing some drugs to creep into legality. im glad your neighbor came to your aid….too bad no other option was available.
Meth! it’s not a drug in the conventional sense. It has mood/mind altering affects some people find pleasurable. But make no mistake, it is a poison masquerading as a recreational drug. Continued use can only lead to one conclusion. Death. More drawn out than say, a bullet to the head, yet nonetheless no less inevitable. The same cannot be said for alcohol, or marijuana, nicotine, or plenty of other substances within the category of drugs. I voted for legalized medical marijuana and I will vote for recreational marijuana if given the chance. This hardly means I would even consider the same for meth. It’s a different animal which I am all to familiar with from my own families experiences and losses. Sadness for this woman, and sadness for this addict and the man who was forced to shoot him. These and many more have been the victims of this tangible representation of evil on earth. But this is but one reason why we have a 2nd Amendment. This is why we fight for it.
Totally shocking that a son could even consider such a thing, she’s lucky to be alive! That neighbor was on the ball.
How sad! But an Awesome Story! It is great to know that there are parents out there that are NOT delusional about their children and the mistakes that their children make. What a wonderful neighbor to be aware and save her. But again, over all a sad story. Thank you Mr. Blannelberry for this article that you won’t likely see on any national news.