Police investigating stabbing at AZ Ikea

TEMPE, Ariz. — Police have made an arrest after a man was found stabbed at the IKEA in Tempe, according to the Tempe Police Department.

Tempe police announced the arrest on Sunday.

Officers responded to the store, near I-10 and Warner Road, on Saturday at around 11:15 a.m. after a stabbing was reported.

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“A man doing work at the Ikea ran out to the parking lot saying he was stabbed and needed help,” the police department said in an initial news release on Saturday.

Officers found the man in a fire access area which is not accessible to the public, police said.

According to IKEA, the man was a “contractor” who got into an altercation with another “contractor.” Both of the men involved were “employed by a third party.”

Police said officers initially had trouble communicating with the man because he spoke Russian, but learned that he had been stabbed by the other contractor.

The victim was taken to the hospital to be treated and has been stabilized, police said.

“While officers continued to work the scene, the Tempe Police Department received a phone call from an employer. It was learned the victim and suspect were third party contractors who worked together, and that the suspect had called the employer and admitted to stabbing the victim.”

Police said the suspect was identified as 39-year-old Francisco Javier Gutierrez.

Police learned Gutierrez might have been headed to California and contacted the Arizona Department of Public Safety for help catching him. DPS found Gutierrez in Quartzsite and he was arrested.

On Saturday, IKEA sent out the following statement, saying that the contractors involved were not IKEA employees and that no customers were involved in this incident:

The safety of IKEA customers and co-workers is always our highest priority. This afternoon, an incident occurred involving two employees of a third-party contractor at our IKEA Tempe store. No IKEA co-workers or customers were involved or harmed in this incident. IKEA is cooperating with the Tempe Police Department. As this is an active investigation, we cannot comment further and inquiries should be directed to the Tempe Police Department.

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