San Jose man arrested on suspicion of stabbing coworker

PALO ALTO – A confrontation between two workers at a Palo Alto company ended in a stabbing Wednesday, police said.

The stabbing was reported at Rubrik, a cloud data management company, at 1001 Page Mill Road about 2:20 p.m., said Palo Alto police spokeswoman Janine De la Vega in a news release.

De la Vega said a preliminary investigation revealed that the stabbing stemmed from a physical fight between two men working as outside contractors in the company’s mailroom. The suspect, identified as 21-year-old San Jose resident Lionel Munoz, allegedly took the victim by surprise and stabbed him from behind and then chased him outside.

The victim ran back inside and a quick-thinking employee locked the door behind him, preventing Munoz from re-entering the business and continuing the attack, De la Vega said.

De la Vega said officers found Munoz holding a knife in the parking lot of the business and took him into custody without incident.

The victim was rushed to a hospital with multiple non-fatal stab wounds, said De la Vega, adding that no other workers were injured. The motive for the attack remains under investigation.

Munoz was booked into Santa Clara County jail on an attempted murder charge. He is being held without bail, according to online jail records.

Anyone with information about the case can contact the Palo Alto Police Department at 650-329-2413. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call or text 650-383-8984 or email paloalto@tipnow.org.