TEMPE, AZ — A man is seriously hurt, and his co-worker is in custody after a stabbing incident at the IKEA store in Tempe Saturday.
Tempe police say they were called to the store after a man doing work at the store ran out to the parking lot saying he was stabbed and needed help.
Officers arrived on the scene and learned the man spoke Russian and had trouble communicating with him initially.
They eventually learned the man was stabbed by a co-worker, however, the incident did not involve IKEA employees.
According to a statement from a company representing IKEA, the incident involved two employees of a third-party contractor at IKEA.
"No IKEA co-workers or customers were involved or harmed in this incident," the statement says.
The man was taken to the hospital in critical but stable condition.
Police say after the incident, they received a call from the victim and the suspect's employer, who told them the suspect had called them and admitted to stabbing the victim.
The employer provided police with contact information, and they identified the suspect as 39-year-old Francisco Gutierrez.
Gutierrez was eventually located in Quartzsite, heading towards California. He was taken into custody without incident.
Gutierrez is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, tampering with evidence, and interfering with judicial proceedings.
