TACOMA — Jin Hyun, 33, was released from the hospital on May 11—just a day after a customer stabbed him outside the Tacoma convenience store that he owns.
Hyun told Q13 that a man entered The Corner Store on North 6th Street on the night of May 10, without a mask. He escorted the man outside and told him, “Sir, next time you come to the store, just have your mask on. Then he became upset, pulled out his knife, and stabbed me,” Hyun told Q13.
Hyun’s father witnessed this and jumped to his son’s defense.
“The guy started stabbing my dad multiple times and the crazy thing is he just walked away after that, like nothing happened,” said Hyun.
Hyun’s father has also been released from the hospital.
A GoFundMe page created by David Kim, Hyun’s friend, exceeded the fundraising goal of $15,000 within hours.
“I am still wrapping my head around the fact that this could happen to two people who are as nice as them or to anyone for that matter,” Kim wrote on the page. “I hope anyone who has gotten to know [Hyun] or his father, who is looking to help them in any way, can give back this one time to help them get back on their feet.”
Surveillance cameras captured the attacker on video. Hyun told Q13 the man was someone he had seen before, shopping inside his store.
As of press time, Tacoma police had not yet released a description of the suspect.