Man stabbed following argument

A man was stabbed in the chest Saturday following an argument with three pedestrians, an incident police say could be gang-related.

Cenobio Rodriguez, 29, was one of four passengers in a car that had a rear passenger window broken out of it by the pedestrians about a block from his home, near 600 N. 900 West.

When Rodriguez got out of the car to confront the pedestrians, one of them stabbed him in the upper left portion of his chest, said Salt Lake City Police Lt. Dave Askerlund.

A passer-by called 911 and Rodriguez was taken to a local hospital in serious condition.

His sister-in-law, Iris Rodriguez, said Cenobio Rodriguez was on his way home from work about 6:30 p.m. when the pedestrians suddenly broke the window.

But Askerlund said the men in the car may have been offended by what looked like rival gang clothing on the pedestrians. Gang signs were exchanged near the curb on the north side of 600 North before one of the pedestrians broke the back window, he said.

After Rodriguez was stabbed, the pedestrians fled east, and Rodriguez and another man stayed near the intersection where the stabbing happened, Askerlund said.

A passer-by asked the fleeing pedestrians what happened and they said someone was chasing them with an ax, Askerlund said.

The passer-by then called police. They arrived quickly and arrested an 18-year-old man, said Salt Lake City Police detective Kevin Joiner.

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Contributing: Zack Van Eyck

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com