AUSTIN, Texas — A waiter at Bob’s Steak and Chophouse downtown is accused of stabbing a customer multiple times Saturday night, an attack that court documents say could have been fatal without medical attention.
Court documents say the waiter, Edward Koubek, stabbed the victim about five times around his neck and back with a knife from the restaurant kitchen. Koubek told investigators he intended to kill the victim, and nurses said the victim would’ve died without medical attention.
People who live near the downtown restaurant said they were shocked by the allegations.
“I think it’s absolutely crazy, and how did they ever let him have a job here,” said Steve Robertson, an Austinite.
“It’s kind of insane if you ask me,” said Jose Salinas, an Austinite.
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Court documents say Koubek greeted and even hugged the victim as he walked into the restaurant for dinner with two friends. Koubek told investigators he recognized the victim as a priest from a church he has gone to before.
After the meal, court documents say, the three got up and Koubek attacked.
“If you come into a restaurant and sit down with your family to enjoy a nice dinner and you leave in an ambulance, unacceptable,” Robertson said.
Asked whether he would consider eating at the restaurant after the reported stabbing, Logan Graham, who lives nearby, said, “Probably not. I think—that’s it for that restaurant.”
Koubek told investigators he intended to kill the victim because he believed the priest would make fun of him during confessions, according to court documents. An officer wrote in the report that the victim was bleeding profusely around his neck and back.
The report says the knife nicked a blood vessel that required radiology treatment to fix.
In a statement, Bob’s said, “The safety of our guests, visitors, and team members remains our highest priority. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement.”
Austin injury attorney Adam Loewy said he believes the restaurant could face liability because Koubek was working at the time.
“I think there’s enough here that I think that the insurance company for Bob’s Chophouse will eventually pay the insurance limit,” Loewy said.
The victim survived the attack. Koubek is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.
