Two separate stabbings in Imperial Beach within an hour and just blocks apart left two men seriously injured Saturday night, according to authorities. Investigators said the incidents appeared unrelated, but the violence has rattled the small coastal community. One of the victims sought help at M ike Hess Brewing, where a Good Samaritan is credited with likely saving his life. Security video shows a young man in a blue shirt and dark shorts, carrying a backpack and using his left hand to conceal a knife wound as he entered the brewery. General Manager Araceli Banuelos said something unusual caught her attention. “There was a chair in the men’s restroom being carried in there.” Banuelos asked her husband, Gary Banuelos, a security expert and U.S. Coast Guard veteran, to check on the situation. “He started shaking so he was definitely going into shock said he was feeling cold,” Gary Banuelos said. Drawing on his training, Gary Banuelos put on gloves and applied pressure to the wound using clean towels while waiting for paramedics to arrive. “Just kept reassuring him, ‘hey, help is on the way. You are going to be alright,’” Gary Banuelos said. His actions likely saved the victim’s life. “I am super proud of him. I have no doubt any time I need something he is my superhero,” Araceli Banuelos said. About an hour earlier — and less than two miles away — another man was stabbed at 13th Street Market and Liquor Store. The victim suffered a wound to his side, closer to his back, similar to the injury of the man who later arrived at the brewery. Video from a nearby business shows the victim sitting on the sidewalk as paramedics treated him. “They were taking care of him. They had probably like 5 EMTs around him, everybody was doing a good job,” witness Rick Toscano said. Toscano, who runs a gym next door, said the police presence that night was unusual. “Usually there is two cops on the weekend, normal. This time there were 10 cops, a helicopter,” Toscano said. According to a city post on social media, the man who later went to the brewery was stabbed during a confrontation with another group at Dunes Park, just a block away. “I’m glad that he sees it as a safe haven though, that it was safe enough to come in here that was good for him,” Araceli Banuelos said. Despite the close timing and proximity, sheriff’s investigators said the two stabbings do not appear to be connected. No arrests have been made, and authorities are asking for the public’s help. “It’s just sad the kind of world we live in nowadays with the crime how it is,” Gary Banuelos said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less