Mario Saldana’s wife, Rosanna Perez, witnessed the attack and recounts her husband’s final moments.
SAN ANTONIO — A man was fatally stabbed early Sunday morning after attempting to deescalate a fight outside a New Braunfels event venue, according to police.
Officers were called just after midnight to El Flaco Event Center following reports of a large disturbance in the parking lot involving multiple individuals. When they arrived, they found 52-year-old Mario Saldana with multiple stab wounds.
Saldana’s wife, Rosanna Perez, witnessed the attack and spoke with KENS 5 about her husband’s final moments.
“I told my husband, we needed to leave, let’s go,” she said. “Immediately he’s like, ‘No, let me go tell these people to calm down, they need to stop.’ He was trying to deescalate the situation.”
Perez said the couple did not know any of the individuals involved in the fight. As Saldana approached to intervene, Perez says he was stabbed multiple times in the chest and back.
“He stabbed him first in the chest, several times,” Perez said. “We tried to get away, and I guess that wasn’t enough for him. He came and tackled him to the ground and stabbed him in the back.”
Saldana was transported by New Braunfels Fire Department paramedics to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.
Police arrested 55-year-old David Saldana — no familial relation to the victim — and booked him into Comal County Jail on a charge of murder. His bond is set at $500,000.
Perez described her husband as a kind and compassionate man who cared deeply about his family.
“He wanted everyone to get along, to be happy,” she said. “It’s unfair because he wasn’t in the midst of anything. He wasn’t doing anything. He was trying to stop something from happening. And this person took his life — not only my husband, but a father from his kids, a grandpa from his grandkids.”
Now a widow, Perez said Mario was the family’s breadwinner while she stayed home to care for her mother. She’s asking the community for support during this difficult time.
“My mother needed us,” she said. “‘You stay home and take care of her,’ he’d say. It might be a struggle, but we’ll manage.”
A GoFundMe has been launched to support the family. To learn more, click here.