Suspect in Wichita nunchuck, stabbing attack on family charged with attempted murder
The suspect in last week’s attack on a family in west Wichita that ended only after police say Good Samaritans put themselves in harm’s way has been charged with attempted first-degree premeditated murder, aggravated battery, criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and two counts of aggravated endangering a child, court records show.
Wichita police last week said Julian Luis Gonzalez intentionally rammed into a Chevy Cruz with a Hyundai Elantra, tried breaking out its windows with nunchucks and stabbed a 30-year-old man inside, causing severe but survivable injuries to the man’s lower body. Authorities did not say what prompted the attack, only that the victims and Gonzalez knew one another.
The Sept. 28 attack, which happened around 6:15 p.m. at West Street and Murdock, halted when bystanders stepped in; one drove a vehicle at Gonzalez and another held him at gunpoint, police have said. Several others subdued Gonzalez until officers arrived to arrest him or provided first aid to the injured man, according to authorities.
A 28-year-old woman and two children, ages 4 and 5, were in the Chevy when Gonzalez attacked, police have said. The woman suffered minor injuries. The children weren’t harmed.
Gonzalez, 38, of Newton, made his first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court on the charges Monday. He remains in the Sedgwick County Jail in lieu of $250,000 in the stabbing case. His next court date is Oct. 17.
