Haverhill Mayor Honors Seven for Bravery During Random, Stabbing Attack in April

(Additional photograph below.)

Joseph Arsenault was just finishing up breakfast with his friends, Peter Carbone and Steve Comei, at their favorite diner on a lazy Saturday morning when a man wielding a knife burst through the door, first attacking Arsenault and then Carbone.

Thanks to the quick thinking of the staff and patrons of Mark’s Deli in Haverhill’s Railroad Square, the assailant, later identified as Brian Scrooc, was apprehended and wrestled to the sidewalk. Arsenault, who sustained cuts on his neck and hands requiring 13 stitches, was taken by ambulance to the hospital for treatment but was back in his seat the next day. Carbone sustained a small cut to his cheek.

“He wasn’t in the diner for more than eight seconds,” Carbone said. “But these guys saved us. It could have been far worse.”

Mayor Melinda E. Barrett honored the heroism of those involved in an impromptu ceremony at the diner Friday morning, May 30.

“Joe, you are the toughest guy on the planet,” Barrett said, and then read a citation wishing him a full recovery.

Carbone, Kevin Waddington and Stavros Dimakis, the owner of the diner, were each lauded for their swift actions in apprehending Scrooc and wrestling him to the ground until Haverhill Police arrived.

Comei were cited for his quick reaction summoning first responders and servers Annie Bajor and Debbie Fountaine were honored for assisting Arsenault and Carbone until emergency medical technicians arrived.

“Thank you all for your courage and compassion in a moment of crisis,” the mayor said.