WASHINGTON — A father who is a frequent visitor to the Petworth Neighborhood Library says he may never be able to go inside again without thinking about the night 45-year-old Ali Zarrincalaki died in his arms after being stabbed.
James Salt was sitting at a computer with his two children next to him around 7 p.m. Thursday night, when he heard a "scuffle" behind him. Thinking another person was being attacked, Salt said he wanted to step in and break up the conflict. But then he saw a knife.
"I touched his arm and he turned around towards me," Salt said, still visibly shaken. "I then saw the knife and I backed away and immediately starting calling for help."
DC Police said the incident was a "deliberate" attack between two men who knew each other, and were both experiencing homelessness. David Howard, 36, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed.
Both police and Salt said Howard followed Zarrincalaki inside the library and then stabbed him in the neck. Four other library visitors tackled Howard and kept him restrained on the ground until police arrived on scene. Salt described one of the people as using a "judo type body hold" on Howard.
"While others were restraining the perpetrator, I approached the victim and just said a short prayer over him," Salt said. "I tried to be encouraging to him in that moment of crossing over, and then he expired."
Salt said after Zarrincalaki died in his arms, his thoughts turned to his children, who had run out of the library when he started yelling.
"It's been difficult in that we want them to talk about it, to somehow come to terms with what they may have seen," Salt said of how his kids are processing the trauma. "They don't want to talk about it."
Salt added that the DC government has offered counseling for his family following the incident, suggesting the names of some mental health experts and checking in on his wellbeing.
"It's confusing how we'll ever walk back into that room again and be normal, and not think of this," Salt said. "I hope too."
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