It was his first day back on the job as a DJ, working a happy hour gig at the Mariano's on Broadway in East Lakeview, the day Chicago lifted its pandemic restrictions.
"I had set up my DJ equipment, was all set and ready to go, and hadn't played my first song yet, and I feel, like, someone pushing me in the back," he recalled.
RELATED: Police warn of woman stabbing people randomly on North Side
Police warn of woman stabbing people randomly on North Side
He quickly realized it was much more than that.
"The moment I realized I was being stabbed, and I turned around and saw that individual's face, just..." he said.
Gilbert said it was a woman, seemingly filled with rage.
"I think it was just random, the first person that they saw, they wanted to attack," he said.
Police believe it was the same woman, seen on surveillance video at Mariano's that day, who is linked to attacks on three other people around the North Side. The attacks happened in Uptown, Edgewater and Lakeview, at North Marine and Lawrence and then Thorndale and the lakefront on June 5, and on June 9 outside a grocery store in Uptown. Police said she also threatened to shoot someone for no reason.
Police said they believe the attacks are random.
Gilbert hasn't gone back to work. He's still in pain from the stabbings, and understandably traumatized with his attacker still roaming free.
"I'm leery about being in certain places, doing certain things that I would do more freely before," he said.
The suspect was described as a woman, 5 ft. 6 in. to 5 ft. 8 in. tall. If you have any information about these incidents, contact Area Three detectives at 312-744-8261.