By Manuel Gamiz Jr
The Morning Call
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The cellphone video shows a group of men surrounding a man lying on the street, one of them with his foot on the man's right bicep. The man on the ground is struggling, and there's shouting.
A woman hovering near the man pleads with him in Spanish and English: "No te mueves, don't move."
An EMT dressed in blue runs over, uses his knee to pin the man's right leg and grabs for his right wrist. Within seconds, a small knife flies out of the man's hand and lands in the street.
The video, obtained from a witness to Wednesday afternoon's stabbing at the intersection of Hamilton and 24th streets, then pans to the right, showing a woman lying on the street writhing in pain, her beige coat soaked with blood.
Allentown police identified the woman as Melissa Mercado-Santini, and on Thursday they charged her father-in-law with attempted homicide and other counts in the attack at the intersection in west Allentown, where Mercado-Santini had stopped her car for a red light.
Police said Jose Santini Feliciano, who was in the front passenger seat, repeatedly stabbed his daughter-in-law and also stabbed his wife, Lucina Santini, who was in the back seat of the car and tried to grab the knife.
The attack, police said, happened "for unexplained reasons."
Several people in traffic behind Mercado-Santini's car, including two emergency medical technicians and an off-duty Allentown police officer, witnessed the attack and jumped into action to help subdue Santini Feliciano and help the victims until police arrived.
The cellphone video — taken by a driver going west on Hamilton Street — pans from left to right, showing the group of men holding down Santini Feliciano, who still appears to be wriggling around.
The EMT dressed in blue in the video, Giovanni Grella with the Philadelphia-based Romed Ambulance, can be heard yelling to some of the men to move so he could get in a better position to grab hold of Santini Feliciano's hand.
Within seconds, Grella and another man wrestle the knife away from Santini Feliciano, the video shows.
With the suspect disarmed, Grella moves over to help Mercado-Santini, asking her, "Where are you stabbed?" As the video ends, Grella is kneeling over Mercado-Santini yelling out to his partner to "grab a jump kit" — an emergency supply bag used by first responders.
Allentown police closed off Hamilton Street for several hours as they investigated. Evidence of a vicious attack included a bloodied purse inside the car, and bloody rags and towels used to treat the victims lying on the street between the car and Grella's ambulance.
Police Capt. Bill Reinik said it was fortunate the paramedics and other passers-by jumped into action.
"He was in the process of stabbing her when the ambulance guys pulled up and stopped him," Reinik said Wednesday. "They're our heroes of the day."
In addition to attempted homicide, Santini Feliciano, 57, of the 1000 block of West Walnut Street in Allentown, is charged with two counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault. He remains in Lehigh County Jail on $750,000 bail.
Court records give no motive for the attack, saying "for unexplained reasons, Mr. Santini Feliciano began to stab Ms. Mercado-Santini about the body with a knife."
In charging documents, Allentown police say they received several 911 calls about the stabbing around 3 p.m.
Police said Mercado-Santini suffered numerous stab wounds, including two to her neck and others to her stomach, chest and arms, and had to undergo emergency surgery to control internal bleeding. Doctors told investigators Mercado-Santini's injuries were "significant."
Santini Feliciano's wife suffered a laceration to her hand, authorities said, and needed several stitches.
Allentown police recovered a folding knife at the scene, court records state.
On Wednesday, Grella said he was behind Mercado-Santini's car stopped in traffic and noticed something was wrong with her car, thinking it might be an accident. As he approached her car, he saw a man attacking a woman.
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