GALVESTON, Texas – A 51-year-old employee was stabbed in the neck during an argument at a Galveston tire shop Monday, police said.
Witnesses said Charles Schatlowitz and a customer were involved in a verbal altercation when the customer stabbed Schatlowitz, a mechanic, in the neck around 3 p.m. at the A&A Tire Shop in the 5700 block of Stewart Road.
"My dad's a good man. He's a mechanic. He helps people as much as he can," Schatlowitz's daughter Sharla Schatlowitz said. "For somebody to sit there and do that to him, that's evil."
The man who stabbed Schatlowitz left the scene. Police are searching for him. He is described as being black, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs about 180 pounds, had a shaved head and was wearing a dark shirt.
The shop's owner said the argument began when the customer tried to use an air hose.
"Unfortunately, the mechanic went and unhooked the air hose. The other person got mad and then stabbed him here," said the owner of the tire shop, Marco Rabago, pointing at his neck.
Schatlowitz was taken to an area hospital and rushed into surgery, police said. They said he made it through surgery and is in stable condition.
The family is hoping for a quick arrest.
"The main concern now is for him to be found and be brought to justice," Sharla Schatlowitz said.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Galveston Police Department at 409-765-3702 or Crime Stoppers at 409-763-TIPS (8477).