ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After a stabbing on West Central left one man dead in January, the second victim is speaking out about what happened.
“It’s something I wish never would happen to nobody,” expressed Jose Solis, a stabbing victim and survivor.
Jose Solis said 73-year-old Fred Tapia was like a father to him. They were neighbors and inseparable, often grabbing something to eat or going to the racetrack together. However, on January 27, a normal trip to a cannabis shop on Central near Unser completely changed everything.
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“There’s two guys and a girl walking in the middle of the road, and I, kind of, swerved around them and drove on the gravel on the side,” recalled Solis.
Jose Solis, 37, said the two men later confronted him and Tapia in the dispensary’s parking lot with knives.
“Just starts telling us, we tried to run them over, you know, and we tried to de-escalate it, and tell them, ‘I’m sorry. We don’t know what you’re talking about,” stated Solis.
The two men were later identified as brothers, Antonio and Jesus Secatero. Solis said the argument turned physical after one of the brothers kicked Tapia in the chest, knocking him to the ground. That’s when Solis said he tried to grab a pipe to defend himself and Tapia but tripped. He said the Secatero brothers stabbed him and Tapia multiple times before eventually taking off.
“It’s just a horrible feeling to know I tried my hardest to fight them off to do something to keep him out of harm’s way, and they didn’t care,” said Solis.
They were taken to the hospital for their injuries, where Tapia later died. Solis was stabbed six times, including in his liver and lung, and spent six days in the hospital. Antonio and Jesus Secatero were charged with murder including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
“You know, from one point, it becomes from self-defense to like I’m on the ground you know, you won, you know. Why do you have to come up and stab me and stab this old man? What did he do? He can’t even hit you,” commented Solis.
Solis said he sends his condolences to Tapia’s family.
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“I tried my hardest to make sure nothing happened to him, and I’m sorry for their loss,” said Solis.
The family of Fred Tapia is holding a Celebration of Life for what would have been his 74th birthday on Monday. It will be held at the memorial site on West Central.
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