WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Loved ones of a Marine veteran who was stabbed in the face during a large fight in Worcester over the weekend say he was only trying to stop a bad situation from escalating.
Around 2 a.m. Sunday, 26-year-old Tyler Ferrara and his friends were leaving Compass Tavern on Winter Street when his family says he intervened to help a woman who was being assaulted.
“This woman was getting beat up from this guy and he intervened, the guy threw a punch at him, he threw a punch back then his two friends jumped in,” his mother Tammy Ferrara said.
She said her son fought off three men until it seemed the fight was over. But, it was not.
“All of a sudden this guy comes out of nowhere with a knife and put the knife right through his eye,” she said.
Officers responding to the fight said they found a chaotic scene upon their arrival. They were then led to where Ferrara was suffering from serious wounds to his eye.
He was taken to Massachusetts Eye and Ear for treatment and his family says he is lucky to be alive.
After a brief foot chase that night, officers caught up with the suspect, Jason Rennie, 33, of Worcester, at the Kenmore Diner on Franklin Street.
Rennie is being held without bail on charges including armed assault to murder, mayhem, two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace, according to the Worcester County District Attorney.
Ferrara, who has only been out of the service for a little over a month, has a 2-year-old son, a new job, and now must face this serious health battle.
“He’s got the world’s biggest heart and that is what it was,” his brother Matt Ferrara said. “Since he went into the military since he was a kid, he was always trying to help somebody.”
His brother said he hopes the suspect will face serious consequences.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for Ferrara.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)