Houston police said if it wasn't for several brave customers, a police officer wouldn't have survived a brutal attack inside a Wal-Mart.
According to investigators, the Houston Community College police officer was working a second job as a security guard at a Wal-Mart in the Meyerland area in southwest Houston.
At about 2 a.m. Tuesday, a man wielding a large hunting knife walked up to the female guard and, without warning, began attacking her.
The man tried to grab her gun and then stabbed her several times in her torso and arm.
Officers said a group of customers wrestled the man and used the officer's handcuffs to detain the man until Houston police arrived.
The customers also gave the officer medical attention until paramedics rushed her to the hospital.
"Those are the heroes here, if you want to talk about that. Because they had a choice. They could have run, but they chose to intervene," said Kese Smith with the Houston Police Department. "And there's an HTC officer who is fighting for her life right now at Ben Taub because of their timely intervention."
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Houston police didn't believe there was any connection between the man and the officer.
"She was sitting there watching the registers, providing security, when he just walked in and attacked her," Smith said.
She was listed in critical condition at Ben Taub Hospital as of Tuesday morning. Her identity has not been released.
