Video: Gainesville man charged with attempted homicide after allegedly stabbing roommate in the neck

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Omar Jose Gutierrez, 32, was arrested yesterday and charged with attempted homicide after allegedly stabbing his roommate in the neck while wearing a cat costume.

Alachua County Sheriff’s Office video can be viewed here.

At 5:25 p.m. yesterday, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call from the victim, who said he was “pouring blood” after his roommate stabbed him in the neck. When deputies arrived, the victim was immediately transported to an emergency room under a trauma alert.

Deputies detained Gutierrez, who was dressed in a cat costume, and ensured that there were no other victims in the residence.

A deputy interviewed the victim, who reportedly said he was using his computer in his bedroom when Gutierrez walked in and stood behind him. He said he had no indication that anything was wrong and continued to use the computer until he felt something “plunge” into the back of his neck. He reached for the back of his neck and grabbed a knife, which cut his hand. The victim said he asked Gutierrez why he had stabbed him and Gutierrez responded, “It was instinctual” and walked out of the room with the knife. The victim then called 911.

The victim reportedly told the deputy that he and Gutierrez had been friends for six years and roommates for nine months, but he said Gutierrez had been acting very strange in the last few weeks and had even said to the victim that he was “not above killing you” after accusing the victim of harming his cat. The victim said he did not harm the cat.

The deputy determined that the crime was “unprovoked and premeditated” and that Gutierrez would have succeeded in killing the victim if the wound had been in a slightly different position.

Gutierrez has a juvenile criminal history but no adult charges or convictions; Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $1 million.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.