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Grace Baptist Reverend Pastor Firm to Resume Homeless Program Amid Recent Tragic Church Stabbing Incident

5 mins read

Grace Baptist Pastor Wishes to Continue Homeless Project Despite Tragic Occurrence

A day following the tragic events of the stabbing incident at the Grace Baptist Church in San Jose, people placed candles and flowers on the steps of the said church as a lament for the unfortunate situation. However, the church’s Reverend pastor David Robinson told the news media that they would continuously support the church’s housing project for the homeless.

The church community is still trying to understand and accept why the incident happened. Robinson expressed that many of the members are currently dealing with their affected fellowmen’s sorrow and loss. 

The stabbing incident took place at the Grace Baptist Church on Sunday. According to witnesses’ reports,’ the attempted homicide happened before 8 p.m. The attacker is already a familiar face within the vicinity, and out of the people he stabbed, one of them is a church worker who attempted to stop him from committing the act.

As of late, five victims got stabbed by the suspect, who got identified and arrested later by the San Jose police. According to authorities, one man died at the scene, while one woman passed away after being transported to the nearest hospital to get quick medical attention on her stab wound. Three other stabbed victims are currently recovering from the hospital, although they remain in critical condition.

Remembering the event, Robinson expressed his sadness from what happened. In an interview, he stated that those who got involved, victim or perpetrator, are the church’s brothers and sisters. Despite the tragedy, Robinson declared that the church would continue to help the homeless as they did for the past 40 years. According to him, there are many possible risks in accepting and caring for houseless individuals in the church – the stabbing incident proved to be one of them. However, Robinson said that he acknowledges such dangers but assures that they would continue the act of helping homeless people, as it is their mission to do called upon to them by God.

Lopez’s Criminal Record and Nguyen’s Identity 

The suspect, later identified as Fernando Jesus Lopez, reveals as one of the homeless individuals residing at the church. According to the police’s official archives, 32-year-old Lopez had a criminal history involving issues of drug abuse and repeated domestic violence acts. After failing to attend his court hearing in late August of this year, his prison release concerning a pending domestic violence lawsuit was canceled.

Out of the three surviving victims from the incident, the city government revealed the identification of one of them. On Tuesday, the City of San Jose confirmed in its official statement that one of the stabbed sufferers is Nguyen Pham, one of the San Jose government’s employees. According to the released account, Nguyen is an active member of the Grace Baptist church community and was present at the church for volunteering work on the night of the incident. 

On Monday afternoon, Nguyen’s injury news led to creating a GoFundMe page dedicated to him. According to the information posted on the site, it talks about how Nguyen tirelessly works hard to help and care for vulnerable individuals within and outside of San Jose. Since the page’s launch, the GoFundMe movement for Nguyen has obtained an amount approximating $21,000, a big stepping stone to reach the ultimate goal of collecting $30,000 to support Nguyen’s medical expenses and stay at the hospital for recovery.

Several people who knew Nguyen came forward and shared their positive experiences with him. Huy Tran, one of Nguyen’s close friends, praised Nguyen for his drive to help people in need and went on to recall the times when Tran saw him distribute supplies and food to homeless people residing within San Jose.

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