A Texas pastor is already on the mend a week after he was stabbed multiple times at a steak house in Austin, Texas, by a waiter who allegedly stated he wanted to kill him for allegedly mocking his confession.
“My recovery is faster than we anticipated, and it is because of your prayers. I am deeply grateful,” Father Jairo Sandoval Pliego, who leads the San Jose Catholic Church in Austin, said in a statement just two days after he was attacked at Bob’s Steak and Chop House by 45-year-old Edward Koubek.
Court documents show Koubek is now facing an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge for his June 27 attack on Pliego.
Officers from the Austin Police Department said around 10:26 p.m., they responded to multiple 911 calls from the restaurant about someone who was stabbed. When they arrived, restaurant staff directed them to Pliego, who was bleeding inside the building.
Police officers quickly assisted the pastor, and he was later transported to Dell Seton Hospital.
A witness identified as A. Mondragon told police that he and his wife, D. Mondragon, had traveled to the restaurant with the pastor for dinner when Koubek, “working as a waiter, greeted them and exchanged pleasantries with Jairo.”
After they were done with dinner and were getting ready to leave, Koubek “suddenly approached Jairo and began attacking him,” according to an affidavit.
A. Mondragon said he grabbed Koubek and restrained him until restaurant staff told him to let him go. When he complied with the request, Koubek ran to the back of the building.
Mondragon’s wife testified that when they first arrived at the restaurant, Koubek told Jairo he knew him from church and “hugged Jairo prior to them starting dinner.” She said as they were leaving after dinner, she thought the suspect had come to give Jairo a goodbye hug before she realized the pastor was being stabbed in the back repeatedly.
Police later detained Koubek.
In a later interview with the pastor, police noted in the affidavit that: “Jairo explained the suspect used to come to the church to pray, but Jairo had not seen him for several months.”
The pastor told them he was just as surprised when Koubek attacked him, “totally unprovoked,” according to the affidavit.
Hospital staff told police that Pliego suffered four to six stab wounds to his back and shoulder area and one of them nicked a blood vessel. His injuries were described as life-threatening without medical intervention.
Police said Koubek made several comments after he was arrested, including, “He is a priest, the guy I stabbed is a priest,” and “He used to make fun of me.”
“Koubek explained he had been going to the San Jose Church dating back to 2018. Koubek explained he would go to confession from time to time and believed the victim, Jairo, would snicker after Koubek gave confession,” the affidavit states.
Koubek further stated that he was not made aware of an Apparition Chapel, which he believed could have helped him work through some of his personal issues. He said when he saw Pliego at the restaurant and recognized him, “it upset him as he is still holding a grudge against Jairo.”
When asked what he intended to do by stabbing the priest, Koubek allegedly told police, “in the moment, to kill him.”
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