Fairfax Man Stabbed in Novato

A Fairfax man with a stab wounds attempted to flee from a California Highway Patrol officer who tried to assist him near a Novato bus stop Monday afternoon, the CHP said.

A CHP officer was getting onto southbound Highway 101 at Rowland Boulevard around 3:40 p.m. Monday afternoon when he saw a man standing in traffic lanes near a bus stop. The man, Edward Clark, 39, of Fairfax, said he had exchanged words with the driver of a passing car and said the driver tried to stab him.

The incident, which prompted a large police response, is being investigated as a possible gang incident because the verbal assault that might have prompted the stabbing, according to the CHP report.

The officer requested an ambulance for the man after finding several stab wounds in the man's back, but that's when the man ran away. The officer quickly caught him and took him into custody with the assistance of a retired San Francisco police officer, the CHP said.

Clark, a plumber, was arrested for an unrelated felony warrant for suspected possession of a controlled substance before being transported to Marin General Hospital for treatment of his wounds. He was booked into the Marin County Jail at 7:14 p.m.

The assault is under investigation and could be gang-related, the CHP said. The driver of the car involved was in a red Mitsubishi.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to aid the investigation by calling the CHP Marin office at 924-1100.