A 25-year-old Carlsbad man who was stabbed near a busy intersection in Vista on Saturday night died later from his injuries, authorities said.

Deputies were called at 9:37 p.m. to the intersection of Vista Village and Plymouth drives in response to a report of a person down in the area, sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos said. They found the man, later identified as Nathan Freeman, lying in the street with multiple stab wounds.

Paramedics took Freeman to Palomar Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 10:13 p.m., authorities said.

The circumstances surrounding the stabbing are unknown, but witnesses said they saw the victim running toward the area where he collapsed, Brugos said.

A few scraps of yellow crime scene tape were all that remained Sunday afternoon in the area where the stabbing occurred, just feet from the bustling Vista Village shopping center.

Employees at several nearby businesses said they neither heard nor saw the crime take place.

Mitch Trussel, an employee at Mr. A's Liquor on Vista Village Drive, said the store closed early as sheriff's officials conducted their investigation.
Problems in the area are few and far between, he said.

"It's the same local people going (by) … it's pretty mellow, there's no violence, really," Trussel said. "It's a regular, normal neighborhood."

Freeman is survived by his parents, Richard and Karen Freeman, the county medical examiner's office reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff's homicide at (858) 974-2321 or (858) 565-5200. Crime Stoppers can be reached at (888) 580-TIPS.


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