Police: Man dead after being stabbed on Northwest Jacksonville restaurant patio

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local man was stabbed to death Monday night at a Northwest Jacksonville restaurant. Witnesses tried to keep him conscious before help arrived, but he died at the hospital.

Police lights and crime scene tape surround the scene where a local man struggled to take his final breaths.

His bloody shirt and the pillow witnesses used to comfort him are all that's left.
 
"I was trying to apply the pressure and still saw the blood coming out," said witness Kent Hall.
 
Investigators say the victim was stabbed during a fight at the back porch of Eveready Restaurant and Lounge on Lem Turner road around 6 p.m. Monday night. We're told he ran as far as he could but only made it half a block.

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"I saw a man running down the sidewalk holding the back of his neck and I observed he was covered in blood. As I looked in my rear view mirror, I see him collapse partially in the street. I hit the brakes and turned around and by that time another lady was putting pressure on his neck," said Hall.
 
Hall was still shaking when we saw him, after he tried saving a man whose life was slipping before his very eyes.

He says "Patrick" was the only thing the victim could tell them.
 
"We were like 'Patrick stay with us.' He wouldn't say a word. His eyes was open," said Hall.
 
Investigators were still interviewing witnesses when we first arrived. Police say several people saw what happened but left before they got there. Those who stopped are devastated it ended this way.
 
"After I found out he didn't make it, it really hurt me. I don't know if there was something else I could have did," said Hall.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is urging the witnesses who were there when the incident happened, to contact them immediately.

On Tuesday, JSO officially identified the man as 50-year-old Patrick T. Pitter and said the incident is being investigated as a murder.

Anyone who has any information in regards to the murder or the suspect is asked to contact JSO at 904-630-0500 or email us at JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous and receive a possible reward up to $3,000, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

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