Brandon Nguyen, 29, of Huntington Beach was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport and was booked for murder and is being held at Long Beach City Jail, without bail, according to authorities.
Police said that the stabbing occurred on March 3 at Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurant located at 5246 Second Street in Long Beach’s Belmont Park neighborhood.
Officers were dispatched to the restaurant around 1:06 a.m. for reports of a stabbing and found a 20-year-old man with a stab wound to his upper body, according to police.
The victim was rushed a local hospital by paramedics where he died of his injuries.
He was identified as Adrian Hernandez, 20, of Long Beach, KTLA reported.
Police said that the incident occurred after two groups got into a fight, during which Mr. Nguyen allegedly stabbed the victim and then fled the scene with others.
Mr. Hernandez’s family said he had gone for dinner at the restaurant after getting off work. He defended a group of young women who were being disturbed by a group of men, a friend of his family member told KTLA.
“The young ladies that he was with were getting harassed, so the man that he was, the gentleman he was, he defended their honor,” Mr. Hernandez’s godfather told the news outlet.
The group of men left only to return shortly wearing hoodies, at which time the two groups argued and the stabbing occurred.
