An off-duty deputy was in the right place at the right time Saturday afternoon when his swift action possibly saved a Walmart Loss Prevention employee's life.
Authorities were dispatched to a Walmart in the 8000 block of Bandera Road just before 1 p.m. Saturday for a report of a stabbing.
An officer at the scene said a plain-clothes Loss Prevention crew member was following the shoplifter when he confronted him as he tried to leave the store. The employee was stabbed in the stomach during the confrontation.
Police said an off-duty deputy got a tourniquet on the Loss Prevention crew member's stab wound and that move is what "probably saved his life."
First responders are treating the injury as life threatening because the man was stabbed near a major artery.
Authorities dispatched a police helicopter, K-9s, officers and detectives to find the robber who ran from the scene.
Police said the suspect, who is in his late 30s or mid 40s, was last seen wearing a red shirt and shorts and has a limp.
Because the suspect matches the description of other homeless panhandlers in the area, police said locating him has been difficult.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to identify the Good Samaritan as an off-duty Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy.
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