A Salem small business owner told the Salem City Council on Jan. 12 that he was stabbed while cleaning a downtown-area building, a firsthand account that came as city leaders continue rolling out a safety and livability strategy focused on areas with the highest volume of calls for police and emergency medical response.
Victor Hernandez, speaking during public comment, said he had been cleaning up the building for several months and regularly interacted with people staying nearby. He told councilors the confrontation escalated when he attempted to move items and clear space as part of the cleanup.
“When I turned around, he hit me,” Hernandez said, pointing to injuries as he spoke. “I had like three.”
Hernandez said the attack has affected his small business and finances. He told councilors he employs four people and has had to borrow money while he recovers.
Mayor Julie Hoy addressed Hernandez after his comments said he had been stabbed “by a person on the streets” and noted he had recently been released from the hospital, thanking him for appearing and speaking publicly.
Hernandez’s testimony came as Salem officials point to their “Safe, Clean and Healthy Salem” initiative, which city materials describe as a community-led, city-supported approach combining expanded public safety staffing, more frequent cleaning in high-response public areas, and a pilot co-response model that pairs medical and behavioral-health support with emergency calls.
Days later, Hernandez described the incident in more detail during a Salem Business Journal podcast interview, shifting from what he told councilors happened to what it has meant for the way he works. He said safety concerns have changed how he deploys crews on job sites where people are camping and why he avoids splitting workers up across a property.
“The other times I send it like three or four guys — just for safety,” Hernandez said. “I need to protect every single one of my workers… Just stay all together.”
Hernandez said the stabbing happened while he and one employee were cleaning at the Rite Aid property and agreed to watch each other’s backs as they moved around different corners of the site. He said he briefly lost sight of his worker, continued clearing trash and debris, and asked people nearby whether garbage on the ground belonged to them before picking it up when they said it did not.
He said the situation escalated near a small tent and a grocery cart tied to it. Hernandez said he moved the cart several feet as he prepared to clean, then turned and found himself face-to-face with a man at close range.
“When I turn around… it’s a big guy,” Hernandez said. “He stabbed me… like three times.”
Hernandez said the injuries required staples and stitches and that doctors told him he was lucky to survive. He described trying to defend himself while applying pressure to his wounds as people nearby ran to help and called 911. He also described the impact on his family, saying he cried when he called his daughter from the hospital.
The council meeting and the podcast interview together placed Hernandez’s account within the city’s broader debate over safety, street disorder and the pressures on emergency response. Hernandez said he wants to keep working, but the experience has made him more cautious about sending crews into environments he believes can turn volatile quickly.
