Good Samaritan Loses His Life after Being Stabbed While Trying to Intervene in a Fight

When Yong Zheng saw an altercation between a group of men on his way home with his family, he tried to intervene and stop the fight, not knowing that it would end his life.

A good Samaritan lost his life after being stabbed when he tried to stop an altercation between some men in Brooklyn on Friday. According to police reports, the incident began at about 9:30 pm.

There was a robbery in an illegal gambling den in a basement close to 57th Street and Seventh Avenue in Sunset Park. Three men were robbed and ran after the robbery suspects in a bid to confront them.

The fight escalated quickly, with men from both sides facing off and lunging at each other. Bystanders watched the fight between both groups from a safe distance.

However, a 46-year-old man, Yong Zheng, who was returning home from dinner with his family, saw the men fighting and moved to their midst in a bid to quell tensions.

However, his efforts proved to be in vain as instead of dousing tensions, he ended up getting stabbed four times in his torso. A surveillance video showed Zheng stumbling back to his family holding his wounds.

He reached where they were before collapsing to the floor. He died of his wounds later in the hospital. Besides Zheng, three other robbery victims sustained stab wounds following the incident.

Zheng is survived by his wife and their two kids, a 14-year-old daughter, and a four-year-old son

Police immediately began a manhunt for three to five men involved in the altercation. On Sunday, officers arrested one of the suspected men involved, identified as William Smith, 45.

Smith faces charges of robbery, murder, and three counts of assault. People have been reacting to Zheng's tragic death, especially the circumstances of his death.

One woman said it was sad that a person trying to help others got stabbed. Members of the community expressed how Zheng's bravery and will to help touched them.

They are also saddened about his death. Another woman said it is super upsetting that he died and shameful that such a thing could happen. Zheng's widow, Jin Zhao, 39, is finding it hard to process his death.

She said her husband heard people saying robbery and did not know what was happening, adding that he saw a crime and tried to stop it. The deceased's god-sister, Xiu Lin, described her god-brother as a good person.

She asserted that his assailants must be punished. Zheng is survived by his wife and their two kids, a 14-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son, with whom he shared the same birthday.

Zheng's story is in some way similar to that of an Adelaide man who stepped in to save a woman stabbed in a 2013 knife attack. However, unlike Zheng's fatal ending, the man, Christopher Lofdahl, received a bravery medal for his life-saving actions two years later.