"Sincerely thought I was going to die": Tourist stabbed at Tim Hortons speaks out

Editor’s note: This article contains footage of graphic violence.

A man who says he was the victim in a random stabbing at a downtown Vancouver Tim Hortons this week has created an online fundraiser asking for assistance.

Miguel Angel Zepeda Machorro, a tourist from Mexico, says he was putting on his jacket near the doorway of the Harbour Centre Tim Hortons around 6:30 am on January 22 when a stranger viciously attacked him from behind.

Police released a video of the attack, showing the suspect stab a man several times before fleeing when he fell to the floor. Police said the victim suffered life-threatening injuries from the stab wounds in his back and shoulder, but he’s expected to survive.

On Thursday, Machorro shared a photo of himself recovering in hospital along with a thankful message to everyone who’d donated to his GoFundMe so far.

“I sincerely thought I was going to die,” he wrote in Spanish. “This aggression was without any provocation on my part.”

Machorro said the attacker’s knife pierced his liver and lungs, and that doctors estimate it will take him at least two months to recover.

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The GoFundMe is asking for $8,000 to help with Machorro’s recovery process.

Police have arrested a 27-year-old suspect in connection with the crime after a three-day investigation. David Richard Morin has been charged with one count of aggravated assault.

“We’re relieved to have made an arrest so quickly in this troubling case, and hope this helps restore the sense of safety that some people have lost,” Sgt. Steve Addison said in a statement.