Man Says He Tackled, Held Down Carmichael Stabbing Suspect As Authorities Arrived

CARMICHAEL (CBS13) - Two men say they were just doing the right thing Friday when they stopped a Carmichael stabbing suspect from getting away.

Four people were stabbed, and two did not survive.

"If someone needs help, help them," Jason Lager said.

Lager said he was just leaving from Bausell Street when he saw something completely out of the ordinary.

"I was going down the street and a gentleman in cowboy hat flagged me down and said that this gentleman just stabbed his boss. I turned around and called 911," Lager said.

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Stephen Todd Ward

That man in the cowboy hat was Stephen Todd Ward.

Ward said he saw the suspect, Martin Raymond Lackey-Garcia, stab four people at the Wellness and Recovery Center in Carmichael and he knew he had to act.

"I just know somebody's got to do something. This guy can't get away. There's no way he's going to hurt my friends and get away with it," Ward said.

Ward says he chased Lackey-Garcia down Engle Road, eventually tackling him to the ground and holding him until deputies arrived.

"That's when, as soon as he dropped that knife, that's when I knew for a fact that's where I got to get him," Ward said.

"Sheriffs were coming in and I pointed out that's him and then they proceeded to take him down," Lager said.

For these two men, the tragedy hit home. Lager knew victim Paul McIntyre through the local amateur radio club where McIntyre served as president.

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Ward met both McIntyre and Eileen Stanwick while helping out at the center. He told CBS13 he'll remember McIntyre as great mentor and wise man, and he'll always cherish Stanwick for being kind and always having coffee ready for everyone at the center.

"The sad thing is that he didn't see if coming. He was blind. And honestly for a man to do that to a blind person, he's a coward," Lager said.

Lager and Ward say they're just glad they were there to help.

"People need to step up in this day and age. A lot of people don't. They just let things go by. They don't pay attention to what's going on around them," Lager said.

"I'm not a hero at all. If I was a hero, nobody would have gotten hit or dead," Ward said.