In the early hours of September 18, 2015, Miguel Angel Briseno Bautista, 42, was fatally stabbed outside an apartment complex near 48th Street and Interstate 10 in Phoenix after intervening in an attempted purse-snatching. Visiting a friend, he saw a man grab at a 23-year-old woman’s bag and stepped in; witnesses say a struggle followed and the assailant cut Miguel’s neck before fleeing on foot. Bystanders tried to stop the bleeding and emergency responders took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that morning.

Born August 3, 1973, in Juanacatlán, Jalisco, Mexico, Miguel lived in Phoenix and worked in landscaping, associated with a small business known as MB Landscaping. Family and coworkers described him as devoted to his wife and three children and as someone who acted instinctively to protect others. Police described the attacker as a dark-skinned man dressed in black; no named suspect has been publicly identified.

If anyone has information about that night or the man who fled, please share tips with the Phoenix authorities handling the case.