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Will Flanagan, former mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, was “inches from death” after a brutal stabbing that took place on October 20 just down the street from Cosmopolitan Dispensary, the cannabis dispensary Flanagan owns.
Flanagan served as the Democratic mayor of Fall River from 2010 to 2014 and stepped down after facing a recall election after he was accused of showing a gun to political rival Jasiel Correia.
The stabbing took place on Hartwell Street, and Flanagan sustained “significant injuries,” according to the Fall River Police Department. Police responded to multiple calls about a man who had been stabbed around 5 p.m., and Flanagan was taken shortly after to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford. He sustained two wounds on his face as well as two on his neck and also lost several pints of blood.
The following Monday, it was announced that Flanagan was in serious but stable condition, and he has recovered further since.
The incident was caught on security footage and shows a man running up behind Flanagan and proceeding to stab him repeatedly. Fleeing the scene shortly after, Flanagan was left to search for help on his own.
You can watch the security footage of the incident here. Viewer discretion is advised.
Tuesday morning, a person of interest was arrested. Corree Gonzales was reported to have assaulted officers during his arrest and is being held at Bridgewater State Hospital after doctors deduced that he suffers from a serious mental illness.
While charges for the stabbing are pending, Gonzales faces four counts of assault and battery on a police officer and is being held without bail.
The week following the stabbing, Flanagan began posting on social media about the incident and how it impacted him beyond recovery.
“I came face-to-face with death. A man, lost in psychosis, stabbed me multiple times in my face, in my body, and in my neck. I can still feel the weight of those moments. The sound. The fear. The realization that I might never see my family again. That I might never tell my family I loved them one last time,” Flanagan wrote on Facebook.
“I remember falling, feeling my own blood, and praying – not for myself, but for one more chance. One more breath. One more sunrise. And by the grace of God, I got that chance,” he continued.
Flanagan also went on to praise and thank the rescue teams, family, and friends for supporting him through his recovery process.
Speaking to WCVB5, Flanagan recounted the actual attack, saying, “Out of nowhere, I received a strike to the left side of my face. I turn around, and there’s this madman with long hair and a beard and some facial tattoos, wearing all black, taking strikes at my face, saying very bad things to me.”
Investigators continue to look into the stabbing, trying to discern if the act had any motive or was purely an act out of severe mental instability.
“They picked up a suspect this morning. Preliminary, it seems like it is someone who is known to them had some mental health issues,” Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan told WCVB5.
They are unsure if he had any relationship at all with the former mayor Will Flanagan or just a random act.
Investigation revealed Gonzales does have a criminal record with prior arrests in 2024 which additionally listed him as homeless.
While there is much to come to public light at this moment, Flanagan has since been released from the hospital in order to continue his recovery at home.