A Metro Manila woman is in stable condition and recovering after being stabbed in the back of the neck with a barbecue skewer as she walked along a footbridge in Banawe, Quezon City, on Saturday morning.
In video of the incident’s aftermath posted by Facebook user Mark Aycardo, victim Diana Maey Cabalo can be seen sitting on a chair at the foot of the walkway surrounded by bystanders, who later brought her to a hospital. A second video shows the suspect — believed to be a homeless man, possibly with mental health issues — in handcuffs holding his flip-flops.
GMA News’ Balitambayan reported that Cabalo’s grisly wound was between two and three inches deep.
“At first, I didn’t know that I was stabbed with a barbecue stick. When people started to approach me [to help], that’s when I noticed,” she told the outlet in Filipino. “I really didn’t know that the suspect followed and stabbed me.”
According to Cabalo’s doctor, the skewer did not strike any arteries, only muscle.
One of the videos in Aycardo’s Facebook post has been viewed more than 250,000 times and shared more than 11,000 times as of this article’s posting.
Netizens thought the incident went to show how unsafe Metro Manila has become.
Facebook user Irish Saisai tagged a bunch of friends and said in Filipino: “Take care when you’re on the street.”
Rhemie Guno, referring to Cabalo’s alleged attacker, wrote in Filipino: “This is why I’m scared of those [people].”
“Shucks!! That’s got to hurt,” said Shayne Chua in Filipino.
Carmella Ocampo felt bad for the woman. “Poor woman, [what an] animal.”
