Former Fall River mayor describes moment he was stabbed: "He was telling me to die"
Former Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan can recall his attack with clarity. "I told the dispatcher, this is Will Flanagan, I've been stabbed, I'm on Hartwell Street and it feels like I'm dying," Flanagan told WBZ-TV.
Flanagan had just left work at his cannabis dispensary in Fall River on October 20, and was headed to buy Halloween candy at a nearby Walgreens, when he says he felt like he was being punched.
"I felt a thunderous impact to the side of my face and when I turned around there was a tall man who I had never saw before. He looked Hispanic with crazy hair and a crazy beard," Flanagan said. "He was saying some horrific things to me. What I can say on camera was he was telling me to die."
Stabbed on both sides of neck
Flanagan says the suspect stabbed him on both sides of his neck and one side of his head. Senior citizens sitting outside an apartment building across the street offered him napkins to stuff into his wounds. Flanagan says he decided to take a selfie of his blood-soaked face so that police could use it for evidence.
Flanagan was transported to Saint Luke's Hospital in New Bedford. He says he was losing blood fast and doctors said he could have one second to talk to his family before going on a ventilator.
"We said our goodbyes," said Flanagan.
He spent six grueling days on life support and now is at home re-learning how to walk, bathe, and even, eat.
Flanagan told WBZ he is focused on gratitude.
"You don't get second chances and God gave me a second chance," he said.
Calls for policy change
He also wants to see concrete policy change when it comes to criminal defendants who are also suffering from mental illness.
"This is bigger than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This goes right to Washington D.C. as far as I'm concerned. It goes to the White House with President Trump, and it goes to our Congress. There has to be a focus and an investment in institutions being reopened in America," Flanagan said.
Corree Gonzales, 31, was charged with two felonies in the attack against Flanagan. A judge ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital. He has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2013 and his next court appearance is on November 10.