Good Samaritan killed protecting woman with baby from attack

YUCAIPA, Calif. -- A Southern California man who came to the rescue of a mother who was robbed and stabbed while holding her toddler, was stabbed to death himself.

The attack happened Sunday night in a parking lot in Yiucaipa, according to CBS Los Angeles. Police in the city about 80 miles east of Los Angeles say the mother was with her 2-year-old child when she put her purse on the roof of her car, and the thief snatched it. When she confronted the robber, he proceeded to stab the woman with a knife.

Troy Cansler saw the attack and chased after the suspect, and was stabbed by the suspected thief. He later died of his injuries, reports the station.

"He didn't think about what might happen. He always thought he was invincible," said Cansler's wife, Autum, according to the station. "I always thought he was pretty invincible, too...but he wasn't. But that was pretty heroic what he did."

"He died a hero, knowing that he did something good, and that he saved two people, not only one, by taking his own life. And that's the ultimate thing you can do," Cansler's daughter Jordyn Glazier said to CBS Los Angeles.

The mother Cansler helped is home from the hospital and recovering.

The station reports police were able to track down the suspect, who was hiding at a nearby bar after the attacks.