PG&E Worker Stabbed In Unprovoked Attack In San Mateo County: DA

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — A PG&E employee was stabbed in the neck in an apparent unprovoked attack while working in South San Francisco on Saturday, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Nicanor Castillo Cortez, a 30-year-old South San Francisco resident who was out on parole, was charged with attempted murder in conneciton with the incident, which took place around 9:30 a.m. while the employee was spraypainting lines on the 900 block of Antoinette Lane.

According to prosecutors, Cortez walked up to the worker, said, “What’s up,” and then took out a knife and stabbed him in the neck. The knife struck the employee’s jugular vein, resulting in profuse bleeding, according to prosecutors.

The victim was taken by a colleague he was with to a nearby police station before being taken to San Francisco General Hospital. Prosecutors said he was “recovering” from his injuries.

Cortez suffers from mental illness, his mother told police. He’s also talked about “wanting to kill people,” prosecutors said.