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Sheriff's deputies call stabbing of Longview man act of self-defense

Sunday, October 26, 2008 11:30 PM PDT

By Leila Summers

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A 23-year-old Longview man was stabbed seven times Friday night in what police believe was an act of self-defense in the Abernathy Creek area, about 15 miles west of Longview.

According to several witnesses, Samuel Bradley, 25, was attempting to leave a party when a group of 12 to 20 people surrounded his vehicle, broke windows and attempted to attack him, said Charlie Rosenzweig, chief criminal deputy for the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.

During the melee, Bradley stabbed Longview resident Dennis Childers, 23, seven times in the neck and upper body, Rosenzweig said.

"(Bradley) had a knife, and he tried to protect himself with that knife," Rosenzweig said.

Childers was listed in satisfactory condition Saturday afternoon at St. John Medical Center.

Witnesses said several people at the party made fun of Bradley’s clothes, prompting him to leave, said Rosenzweig, who did not know Bradley’s city of residence. That’s when the confrontation escalated, he said.

Police haven’t made any arrests. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (360) 577-3092 or Crime Stoppers at (360) 577-1206.

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Gondolapete wrote on Oct 25, 2008 11:48 PM:

" See..for me it would have been a Glock .40 that would have protected me..Just sayin......... "

missymae wrote on Oct 26, 2008 12:36 AM:

" that sounds a little fishy don't you think if there were 12 to 20 people attacking him then why did'nt other people try to step in and help the guy out why stab someone seven times this guy should be in jail for attempted murder not out roaming around does he do this at all parties he goes to? "

98626 wrote on Oct 26, 2008 3:43 AM:

" Missymae...what were the people going to do to this guy if he had not been able to protect himself? If you were surrounded and attacked by 12 to 20 people who were breaking your car windows to get at you, how frightened would you be? What do you think these people were going to do to this guy if they got their hands on him? Crowds who get out of control like this one during violent attacks have killed people! They were taking extreme measures and acting like animals when they began breaking windows to get to this guy...and all over the way he dressed? This is sad and uncalled for. Those people should be ashamed. "

AnotherLameOpinion wrote on Oct 26, 2008 3:44 AM:

" Wow Missy Mae, how presumptuous of you. Perhaps the 12 to 20 people were all the people at the party. Perhaps he should have just let 12 to 20 people beat the hell out of him while he "waits" for some good samaritan to come to his rescue out in the middle of nowhere. That is a foolish assumption. If 12 to 20 people are attacking you, you are either going to do nothing and be terribly injured, or you are going to fight, and sometimes, someone is obviously going to get hurt. When 12 to 20 people are attacking you, it isn't a simple fist fight, have you never read of these things. This guys was fighting for his life if 12 to 20 people were attacking him. Self defense in any form is justified!!! Gun, Knife, whatever, the cowards who ganged up on this guy deserve whatever injuries they received. A fight is one thing, this wasn't a fight. You make it sound like this guy was just out loking to start a fight with 20 people. Doesn't that sound a little silly. I sure don't know anyone who would do something so silly. It sounds like the police investigated it and came to a proper conclusion. Don't you think they would have gotten witness testimony before deciding whether or not to charge him???? "

SPARROW wrote on Oct 26, 2008 7:37 AM:

" If there were 15 or 20 people that surrounded this guys vehicle and were breaking out his windows as he was attempting to leave, it's too bad more of the bullies didn't get poked during the meelee. "

viper wrote on Oct 26, 2008 8:30 AM:

" why only one man stabbed why not five or six people if that many was attacking him
sounds kind of fishy to me but what do I know as I was not there. He's the guy I would want at my parties even brought his own knife thats a plus : Viper "

Gramma cc wrote on Oct 26, 2008 8:52 AM:

" If there were 12 to 20 people standing around then how did he even manage to stab this guy 7 times ? something doesn't sound right.. You would think that one of the 12 to 20 people would have did something before a stabbing could even take place... "

Diesel wrote on Oct 26, 2008 9:03 AM:

" I'm with you Pete. As for missymae - did you read the story? Are you gonna step in against 12 to 20 people? I seriously doubt it. He did jusy what the law allows. He protected himself. With that many people after him he was justified in using deadly physical force. Were I in that situation I would be afraid for my life, wouldn't you? Maybe he should have just run over a few of them with his car. "

cuz wrote on Oct 26, 2008 9:04 AM:

" Goes to show what happens when you get a group together, drinking, they get a gang mentality, single out one person and pick on them mercilessly, the guy tries to leave and they attack him. "

somedude wrote on Oct 26, 2008 11:13 AM:

" hmmm, Im sorry, but 7 stab wounds on the same person sounds like an act of aggression, if he were defending himself against 20 people then why weren't any of the other people stabbed? "

~:sturgeon:~ wrote on Oct 26, 2008 11:24 AM:

" If any one person learned any one thing from this "party" then the same story will never have to repete its self for that one person.If that one person takes the newfound knowledge and weaves it into there daily life. leading by example..... "

grrrowl wrote on Oct 26, 2008 12:08 PM:

" He was in his car, so the person that he stabbed must have been coming at him through the window. Only so many people can fit through the windows of a car, so I'll assume that's why no one else got stabbed... "

AnotherLameOpinion wrote on Oct 26, 2008 12:10 PM:

" could be the one that got stabbed 7 times was the one with his whole body inside the guys window trying to pull him out. I would assume the crowd, upon seeing this guy get stabbed 7 times probably got back enough for the guy to get the heck outa there. After all, if it was self defense, he wasn't looking to stab "more" people, just looking to get away, which would be consistant with stabbing only one person. He was inside his vehicle with everyone trying to get at him. The person that actually "got" to him, was the one that got stabbed. (Just a likely scenario for all you doubters) "

opinionated 1 wrote on Oct 26, 2008 2:03 PM:

" Too bad when he got his car started he didn't try to run them all over . The person who got stabbed should feel lucky to get away with his life . I know if I'm ever being attacked by that many people I'd at least do the same . "

justareader wrote on Oct 26, 2008 4:45 PM:

" It took three of you but you did it! You worked out the salient points for clarity.
1. Mob mentality
2. Stuck in car, can only get so many with knife.
3. You injure one badly enough, the rest will back off allowing you to escape.

Tests have been done on the effects of mob mentality and the type of person who will step in to try to help. In this instance the only "smart" thing would have been to stay out of the way and be on the phone to 911. I hope all parties learn from this incident. "

lola*in*longview wrote on Oct 26, 2008 7:07 PM:

" How do you know no one else was stabbed, maybe just not as bad and chose not to get medical attention. The police wouldn't know without the hospital calling. One guy had to get the help so we only know for certain one guy was stabbed, could be several others that treated the wounds themselves. Hey it is a possibility. "

Dixie Wreck wrote on Oct 26, 2008 8:38 PM:

" Wow, amazing.. I guarantee if that many people were 'attacking' this guy that he had to start stabbing someone, more people would have gotten stabbed. Sounds to me like he went looking for trouble if he was carrying a knife around. Think about it, that many people around, attacking you so how did only one get stabbed? Seven times? Use your heads he is lying to get out of it because he knows what he did. And the cops in this town will buy it because they don't care about putting the real story out there. Self defense is a crock. When I self defended myself I got it for assault. Shows how screwed this county is. Lucky I wasn't there, far as I am concerned he should be the one in the hospital, or morgue for that matter! I just hope the truth comes out and I praise the kids that kept him from injuring anyone else. "

grrrowl wrote on Oct 26, 2008 11:39 PM:

" Dixie Wreck - I carry a swiss army knife around all of the time because it's handy, I have no interest in stabbing anyone. "

Tempest wrote on Oct 27, 2008 9:28 AM:

" I was thinking the same thing, justareader.... "

Dixie Wreck wrote on Oct 27, 2008 11:57 AM:

" Growl, you probably aren't 19 and full of testotorone and attitude either. Kid started a fight, realized he was losing and desides to win by knife, then cry self defense. You think 1 stab wound would be enough for him to get away or hmm wait, lets try seven and kill the sucker.. sounds more like it to me. He wasn't trying to get away he was trying to kill. "

Beau Khaki wrote on Oct 27, 2008 2:01 PM:

" Dixie wreck, your pretty sure of what happened. I can only assume one of two things. The first, you were there or second you werent and you just "think" you know what happened. AnotherLame Opinion has a very plausible scenario. The only absolutes at this point is that it is a very unfortunate incident and someone has half a dozen hole in him and your property taxes will never decrease. May they all learn from this. "

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