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Friends say 45-year-old Everett man was stabbed to death while protecting son

Friends of Everett man who was stabbed to death hope for justice
Friends of Everett man who was stabbed to death hope for justice 01:26

EVERETT -- A 45-year-old man was stabbed and killed near the Keverian School in Everett Monday night. Family friends identified the victim as 45-year-old Mark Luiso.  

They told WBZ-TV that Luiso died while trying to protect his son. 

"He's brave. He went down protecting his son and that's a hero in my book," said friend Liz Stoddard.

Neighbors said that police recovered a knife on the hood of a car nearby.

"It was about a foot long,"  said Gaetano Denardo. "It looked like it was wrapped with something at the end where the handle part was, it was just sitting on the hood of the car." 

Denardo was visibly shaking while speaking with WBZ-TV. He said the stabbing makes him uneasy. 

He also found a cell phone at the scene on Tuesday morning and gave it to police.     

"It gets me a little sweaty and nervous because it's too close to home. I've lived here all my life and I've never seen something like this," said Denardo. 

One woman who did not want to be identified said she heard screaming right outside her door. 

"We only heard when the woman screaming I guess the guy was already hurt and he was laying there when we got outside," she said. "It's scary and surreal." 

According to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, there was a brief altercation before the man was stabbed around 10:30 p.m.

Neighbors said paramedics tried to help the victim at the scene before he was rushed to the hospital. 

"There was a lady in the middle of the street, standing in the middle of the street screaming. I looked out my back porch and someone was getting CPR," Denardo said.

 Luiso's friends said he was a fierce protector and dedicated father of three. 

"He was a wonderful father and a wonderful husband. He would give you the shirt of his back," said friend Lisa Hogan. 

No arrests have been made. 

Anyone with information is asked to call police.

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