Texas stabbing victim's dying moments captured on camera: 'He killed my son'

Miya Shay Image
Friday, June 7, 2024
Stabbing victim's dying moments in driveway captured on camera
Chris Dang's family said their loved one was trying to help someone who then allegedly stabbed him. Harris County deputies say it was a random attack.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas -- A grieving Texas family is looking for answers about why someone stabbed their son to death as he came home from a job interview.

Investigators said on Wednesday, sometime after 4:30 p.m., Rafielle Andrews was standing around a street in north Harris County.

Authorities said the 40-year-old had a toy in one hand and a knife in the other. Andrews allegedly tried to stab a woman, but the knife had a sheath on it, and she only suffered a bruise.

Investigators believe Andrews then flagged down Chris Dang, who was driving home after a job interview. When Dang rolled down the window to see what Andrews needed, investigators believe that's when Andrews attacked.

Wounded, a bleeding Dang managed to drive the block or so to his family home. His mother, Hoa Duong, just happened to be outside. She saw her son in distress.

"He had the window down, and he was just like this," she said, pointing to her own chest. "'Mom, call 911,' and I'm like, 'What happened?'"

Dang was stabbed in the chest. Immediately, the family called 911.

Duong's cell phone records show the initial call was made at 4:44 p.m. Chris' brother, Huan, described following dispatchers' directions as he tried to save his brother.

"She was saying, 'Move the car. Get him on the ground.' And we were scared, and we reclined the seat," Huan Dang recalled. "Finally, my dad put him on the ground."

The family's agonizing moments, from when Chris managed to drive back to his own home to when paramedics showed up, were captured on their surveillance camera. On it, you can see paramedics trying to save Chris' life shortly after 5 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 5:17 p.m.

"This is tragic. There's no other way to look at it," Rodney Wallace, a neighbor and a former member of the subdivision's homeowners association, said. "He didn't do anything to deserve what he got. He was stopping to help somebody."

Wallace added that during his time on the HOA board, response time from law enforcement and paramedics was a "pet peeve" of the neighborhood.

Harris County records show an ambulance was dispatched to Dang's home at 5 p.m. and arrived at 5:03 p.m.

Investigators were able to arrest the suspect right away. They don't know the motive but say he has an extensive criminal record and established mental health issues.

Authorities believe he regularly visited relatives who stayed in the same subdivision. The Dang family believes if it weren't their son, Andrews would have attacked another neighbor.

"He killed my son. He had a mental illness. He would have killed somebody else later," Duong said.

The Dang family said they may eventually investigate the response time issue. Their video recordings show an extended time between the mother's first 911 call and when paramedics arrived.

But for now, they want to focus on planning a funeral and burying their son. Chris Dang was 49 years old and one of six brothers and sisters.

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