Florida priest describes stabbing incident in video interview
[Episcopal News Service] The Rev. Matthew Marino, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in St. Augustine, Florida, described the Oct. 23 stabbing that left him badly injured in a video interview with Jacksonville-based First Coast News.
Marino recounted how he and a friend were seated outside Coffee House Realty Café, waiting for it to open, when a woman walked by and said, “I have problems.” Seeking to be pastoral, he leaned forward and said, “Tell me your story,” and she then stuck a knife into his chest.
“I just looked down and said, ‘Hey, you just stabbed me.’ And, you know, put my hand there to make sure, like, yeah, there’s actually a hole there. And then she kind of got this look on her face like and now I’m going to finish the job,” he said.
“… It reminded me of [The] Lord of the Rings when Gollum sees his precious [the One Ring to Rule Them All]. And so, I had stood up at that point, and she starts coming back at me with this knife with a rusty blade, and I’m just sort of backing up saying, ‘You know, we don’t have to do this, we don’t have to … let’s not do this.’”
Marino said he initially thought he wasn’t badly injured but soon realized he was bleeding. He lay down on the ground, noted how gray the sky was, and thought, “This is a really weird way to die. I have a lot of important meetings today.”
A police report indicated Marino was stabbed below his left collarbone, puncturing his lung. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and was released on Oct. 29.
Arieana R. Gibbs, 22, was arrested and charged with three felonies: attempted homicide, aggravated assault and battery. She pleaded not guilty in a Nov. 7 arraignment.
