Jürgen Hapke died rescuing Helmut Mende from assault, Beverly Hills, California, December 14, 2005. Commercial painters Mende, 71, and Hapke, 65, were in a parking lot at a job site when, just before dawn, a man approached Mende and without provocation stabbed him three times with a kitchen knife. Mende fell to the pavement and attempted to fight off the assailant. His yelling attracted the attention of Hapke, who was working about 25 feet away. Hapke approached the assailant, speaking to him, but the assailant turned from Mende and stabbed Hapke repeatedly. Mortally wounded, Hapke fell to the pavement as the assailant fled the scene. Mende required hospital treatment for his wounds, and he recovered.
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