Woman speaks at vigil for man who died saving her life

WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) -- A mother spoke out Monday night during a vigil for a homeless man who died protecting her and her baby in Rodney Square.

Last week, 27-year-old Thomas Cottingham jumped into action when a man with a knife tried to attack Amadi Muhammad and her daughter.

Police say Cottingham was stabbed to death by Calvin Hooker.

Amadi Muhammad was at the vigil and spoke to Action News.

"I feel like it's my fault, I didn't know either of them. I didn't know why that man was chasing me. I don't know if he mistook me for someone else or what. But that man was the only person that jumped in to help me out of all the people that were out here. And if he wasn't there my daughter and I would have been slaughtered," Muhammad said.

Many at the vigil are hoping for a memorial bench or plaque to be put up in the square to honor Cottingham.

The incident happened just before 10:00 p.m. last Monday at 10th and King streets.

According to police, Hooker confronted Muhammad who was pushing her infant daughter in a stroller through the area.

He approached the 21-year-old woman about a stolen phone and then allegedly chased her waving a knife.

Muhammad tried to enter an unoccupied bus and that's when Cottingham intervened in an attempt to stop the attack.

Police say Hooker then stabbed Cottingham several times in the upper body.

Responding paramedics administered CPR on him until he could be transported to Christiana Hospital for care.

He was pronounced dead some time later.

After the attack, witnesses led police to a suspect in the 800 block of North King Street.

Officers pursued the suspect on foot briefly before arresting him.

Hooker was charged with 1st degree murder, possession of a deadly weapon and aggravated menacing.

Cottingham was a fixture at Rodney Square with his skateboard and music.

Those who knew him can't believe the man they called "Cannibal" is now gone.

"Cannibal, he really was genuinely a good person," friend Jessica Hitchens told Action News last week.