ORLANDO, Fla. – A group counseling patient was stabbed 10 times while trying to save his counselor during a fatal attack at an Orlando office building Monday night.
Rebecca White died en route to the hospital after the attack by Michael Smith, a registered sex offender with a history of violence, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
The patient, whose name is being withheld for privacy, attempted to intervene when Smith forced his way into the counseling office during a group therapy session.
“Went to go call the cops and the guy told him to drop that phone. And when he didn’t, that’s when he started cutting him,” said Aaron, the injured patient’s father, who requested his last name be withheld to protect his son’s identity.
[BELOW: Former client kills counselor, injures man in stabbing on Lee Road in Orange County, deputies say]
According to Aaron, his son grabbed Smith and attempted to subdue him.
“He threw himself and the guy to the ground. And he came up stabbing away. Legs... arms...” Aaron said.
The patient tried to help White escape the building, but Smith continued the attack.
“He stabbed and threw my son down the stairwell, or he slipped and fell,” Aaron said.
While the patient lay injured at the bottom of the stairs, Smith carried out what sheriff’s officials described as a “tragic murder,” fatally stabbing White.
The surviving patient, released from the hospital Wednesday, is struggling with survivor’s guilt, his father said.
“He thinks if he had turned around and gone back up the stairs...” Aaron said, describing his son’s emotional state. “He’s feeling bad because he feels like if he went back in, he might have been able to save Rebecca.”
Aaron said he’s trying to help his son cope with those feelings.
“I told him when he’s crying, don’t do that. Don’t start beating yourself up. Because it could have gone the other way. And you’d be dead,” he said.
The family has established a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the patient’s hospital bills.