Man stabbed on Gallup street

An alleged three suspects stabbed Lorenzo Lavato September 30, 2007 along the 900 block of E. 66 in Gallup. Lorenzo said that two of the suspects told him, "we're going to shank you" while he walked the Gallup streets in the early morning hours. Lorenzo wished that the suspects would "change their ways" before they hurt themselves or murdered someone. [Photo by Daniel Zollinger/Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — What started as a simple greeting between two strangers led to a brutal stabbing during the early morning hours of Sept. 30.

After days of recuperation at a local hospital, the victim is now ready to speak about the attack that left him bloodied, bruised and experiencing nightmares.

Lorenzo Lovato said he was walking along McKinley Street about 3 a.m. on Sept. 30 when he was approached by a young Native American couple in their late teens. The group exchanged greetings, but the encounter quickly evolved into something less civil.

According to Lorenzo, the couple threatened to “shank him” and followed him to his destination, the Mustang Convenience Store at West U.S. Hwy. 66.

While Lorenzo entered the store for a “midnight snack,” the couple peered at him over the store’s concrete wall.

“I told him ‘You go your way and I’ll go mine,’” Lorenzo recalled of his advice to the man. “ ... They had no business following me.”

Lorenzo then walked from the convenience store along U.S. Hwy. 66 en route to a residence he was house-sitting for the weekend.

Moments later, he was approached by the same couple, plus another man who is described as in mid-twenties.

“I was backing into the street,” Lorenzo said of his reaction to the couple coming toward him.

The next thing he knew, he was knocked to the ground by the tail-end of an oncoming semi-tractor trailer. He then woke up to find the man and woman making stabbing motions toward his body. A stream of blood then poured down his neck as he stumbled to his feet.

“That’s all I really remember until the officer came,” Lorenzo said. “ ... I could feel the blood running down.”

Lorenzo was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of three to four stab wounds, while his attackers have never been arrested in connection with the assault.

“The doctor said I was really lucky,” he said of his stab wounds that were inflicted from a knife driven into his body at a sideways direction.

Lorenzo said he will not let the attack disrupt his day-to-day routine and he will continue to walk at night because he has no alternative form of transportation.

“I’m not going to sit home and hide,” Lorenzo said. “ ... There’s more good people than bad, I believe.”

Meanwhile, he expresses compassion toward his attackers, despite his injuries.

“I don’t wish harm on these people,” Lorenzo said. “I hope they change their ways.”

Sgt. Erin Toadlena-Pablo, a spokeswoman for the Gallup Police Department said the investigation surrounding the stabbing is ongoing. Investigators have no suspects in the case.

Lorenzo said he’s been told the incident may have been gang related.

Anyone with information about the case, is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (505) 722-6161. A reward of up to $1,000 is available to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect in the case.