No arrests have been made two weeks after a Fourth of July clash between pro-Palestinian protesters and those who confronted them turned deadly.
Rumsey Salman, a 34-year-old pro-Palestinian protester and Phoenix resident, was stabbed in the chest following a confrontation that escalated to violence after a demonstration at Steele Indian School Park. The stabbing just missed his heart and lungs, he said.
Salman was confronted by what he described as a trio of people as the protesters walked from the park after the protest. Among the trio was 51-year-old Paul Franco, who soon after was shot and killed near Central and Minnezona avenues by a protester who proclaimed self-defense.
The confrontation between the protesters and those who confronted them moved from a sidewalk to an apartment complex parking lot, from words being tossed to eggs being flung, and finally to weapons being drawn.
Salman and Franco's girlfriend have both said they do not understand why no arrests have been made. The case remains under investigation by Phoenix police.
Police on Tuesday told The Republic there were no updates to the case and that decisions on charges would be made at the investigation’s conclusion. On Thursday, police said they had no updates to provide and new information on the case would be disclosed via news release. Police have not yet responded to a Tuesday request from The Republic for video surveillance footage used in the investigation.
"I don't even know if they're looking for him," Salman said about the man who stabbed him. He was interviewed by The Arizona Republic on Tuesday.
Franco's girlfriend, Stephanie Renteria, appeared Monday in a televised interview with 12 News, displaying bruises to her arm and face that she said came from protesters who attacked the couple. Renteria said she wanted the woman who shot Franco to be charged in his death.
"People can just come into your property and claim self-defense ... it's scary," Renteria told 12 News. "I want some kind of justice."
Franco was a father of two adult children, including 29-year-old Paul Franco Jr., who spoke with The Republic on Wednesday. Father and son worked together at the dad's manufacturing company and had talked over the phone on the day he died. His father mentioned he was planning on watching Independence Day fireworks that evening.
"He was a very loving father," Paul Franco Jr. said. "You could just tell that he genuinely cared about the welfare of other people."
The Arizona Republic is not naming the woman who police said shot Franco because she had not been charged. She was among more than 100 protesters from May 2020 who were plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Phoenix police, according to attorney Steve Benedetto. The plaintiffs were arrested in cases that judges later tossed out.
Benedetto was representing her in the class action suit and this criminal investigation, he told The Republic Wednesday.
Salman credits shooter with saving his life
According to Salman’s account, Franco, who was accompanied by a woman and another man, confronted Salman and his group as they walked to their parked vehicles.
Salman said he was carrying a Palestinian flag while the group of several people held pro-Palestinian signs after their protest.
Initially, Salman said, he tried to counter Franco’s "not true" opinion about their beliefs. "I just tried to push back a little bit on it. He just wouldn't have it. And it was just one of those hateful dudes that just assumes because you're pro-Palestine that you're pro-terrorism."
He said Franco and the woman started yelling at the protesters, "Hope you die slowly."
At that point, Salman said he tried to defuse the situation; he said he had smelled alcohol on Franco’s breath before he tried walking away. Police officers showed up and instructed Franco and his companions to walk toward Steele Indian School Park and told the protesters to head to their vehicles, Salman said.
The day after the shooting, police stated in a "corrected" news release that officers had responded at 8:45 p.m. after hearing gunfire. An earlier version of the news release stated officers had responded to a call at 8:45 p.m. about a fight breaking out.
Once Salman’s group made it to the parking lot, he said Franco and his two companions approached them again. The trio started tossing eggs at them, striking a child, according to Salman. Salman's car was parked at a parking lot next to the apartment complex and facing a wall separating the lot from the complex, he said.
After the egg tossing, Salman said he walked to the apartment complex from the adjacent parking lot and approached Franco to "defuse the situation." He said as he restrained Franco from continuing to punch a woman from the protesting group with his closed fist, the other man from the confrontational trio stabbed him, Salman said.
"I didn't even see him coming," Salman said of the man who stabbed him. "When I … really became aware of his presence, is when I had a knife in my chest."
After Salman was stabbed — a wound that was an inch deep and an inch in length — and his shirt was soaked in blood, Franco began beating on him, he said.
According to Salman, Franco was armed and stood over him. Sometime after that, Franco was fatally shot. Police have not publicly disclosed whether Franco was armed. Salman on Wednesday told The Republic that he credits the woman who shot Franco for saving his life.
"I was not able to escape until I heard gunshots," Salman said.
"I really could not see what was going on at that time — trying to survive, make sure I don't die. And I heard gunshots going off, so I didn't know what happened," he said.
Franco's girlfriend shares her account with TV outlet
Renteria told 12 News that an argument between Franco and the protesters escalated when she and Franco returned to his apartment about a block away from the park, with the two throwing eggs at the protesting group.
Protesters followed the couple into the apartment complex by jumping a wall and threw rocks at the couple before the shooting happened, Renteria told the TV news outlet.
Paul Franco lived in the apartment complex where he died outside. Renteria did not reside with him, his son Paul Jr. said.
This was not Salman's first altercation since protesting
Salman has family in the West Bank and is former Arizona House Rep. Athena Salman's younger brother. He had, by the Fourth of July, completed 191 consecutive days of pro-Palestinian protests, he said. As of May 13, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry updated its breakdown of the total fatalities to around 35,000 since Oct. 7.
He lamented being forced to suspend attending the protests because of the stabbing. Still, Salman said he was grateful to be alive.
"I was lucky enough it didn’t penetrate the chest cavity" and did not hit arteries or organs, he said of the stabbing, adding that he expects to return to his regular work as a painter.
Police spoke with Salman when he was at the hospital, which he was released from that same night, he said. Police confiscated Salman’s phone, which he said has video of his interaction with Franco and an image of the gray- or white-haired man who stabbed him, he said. Police have not reached out to him since, Salman mentioned.
Salman shared with The Republic in early April how he has been repeatedly harassed and robbed during daily Phoenix-area protests decrying the mass deaths of children in the Israel-Hamas war.
Salman previously told The Republic that he has reported to police that he has had a Palestinian flag stolen from him three times, and he has faced death threats, expletives and has been accused of being a terrorist and of being antisemitic. Phoenix police at the time confirmed they were investigating the robbery of his flags.
On Tuesday, he expressed skepticism about police ultimately arresting the man who stabbed him.
"But judging by the way the police handle all my cases … They're not willing to protect me. So, honestly, I don't have faith in the Phoenix Police Department right now," Salman said.
Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @jrgzztx.
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