A brave Westchester father and daughter who stopped a man from stabbing his wife to death in a jealous rage — then saved her life with a makeshift tourniquet — were honored as “quick-thinking” heroes at an award ceremony Wednesday.
“She survived that day because two strangers, knowing nothing of the dispute at hand, did something no one asked them to do,” Westchester District Attorney Susan Cacace said at the “civilian hero” event for Armando and Shayla Gramajo.
“They did something that placed them in the way of a knife-wielding assailant. They intervened. They saved [her] life,” she said.
Armando Gramajo, a Guatemalan-born bus driver, was working on his car at his home in White Plains on May 4, 2024, when he heard a woman scream “help!” in Spanish.
He then saw the woman’s husband, Carlos Obed-Tovar, chasing her down Harding Avenue with a knife.
Obed-Tovar — who was enraged his wife had spoken to a male work colleague — stabbed her repeatedly in the back, neck and skull in an attack so vicious the handle broke off the blade, according to lohud.com
Gramajo sprang into action, shouting “Para! Para!” in Spanish — a command meaning “stop!” that he used while serving in the Guatemalan army.
Obed-Tovar, incredibly, ceased stabbing his wife and froze.
Gramajo called for his daughter, Shayla, to come out of the home and help the victim, who was gushing blood.
Shayla, who was then training to become a physician’s assistant, rushed out of the garage with towels that she used to apply pressure to the woman’s wounds.
“It could have gone the other way and I’m just glad it didn’t,” Shayla Gramajo, 25, told The Post Wednesday.
“Thankfully, it didn’t escalate any further.”
When Obed-Tovar tried to run away, Gramajo again shouted “Para! Para!” and he again stopped and stayed at the scene.
The violent abuser, it turned out, had been a narcotics officer in his native country, Colombia, and responded instinctually to the command, Cacace said.
The victim, identified only as Carolina, was rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency surgery. She ultimately survived with a total of 35 stab wounds, some of which she endured before fleeing her apartment.
“For your quick thinking, bravery and heroism on May 4th 2024, I’m presenting you with the inaugural Civilian Hero award,” Cacace said at the ceremony at Westchester County Courthouse Wednesday.
Armando Gramajo, who speaks limited English, said he was simply grateful he could be there to help.
“I say, God thank you we were there when it happened,” he said. “Thank you very much for making this ceremony for us.”
The victim, whose vocal chords were damaged during the attack, mouthed “thank you” to the father and daughter at the ceremony.
“They embody hope, solidarity and the true essence of compassion,” she said in a statement read by an assistant district attorney.
Obed-Tovar has since pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder and was sentenced in August to 12 years in prison.
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