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Father Fatally Stabbed in Front of Son While Shopping for Toys in Target on Christmas Eve

The late Tyrone Griffin Jr., 36, and his family.
The late Tyrone Griffin Jr., 36, and his family. | (Photo: Screen grab via CBS SF)

Tyrone Griffin Jr., a doting California father shopping for last-minute gifts for his children at a local Target store, was stabbed to death on Christmas Eve after he reportedly asked two young men to turn down vulgar music they were playing in earshot of his 4-year-old son in the store's toy section.

"Who would have ever thought these last-minute gifts would cost him his life?" Nicole Simmons, the girlfriend and mother of Griffin's four children, told the East Bay Times.

Sgt. Ruben Pola told NBC Bay Area that a witness saw Griffin fighting inside the Target store on Whipple Road in Hayward at 8 p.m. Dec. 24, shortly before the stabbing.

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Griffin reportedly put one man in a headlock, but was punched or stabbed repeatedly by another man. When the dad lifted up his shirt, the witness said he was bleeding badly. He then crossed into the food aisle and went into shock in front of his young son.

Police arrived at the store at 8:02 p.m. and found Griffin on the floor with at least one stab wound. He was taken to Eden Hospital in Hayward, where he was pronounced dead, the East Bay Times reports. 

Shortly after 8:45 p.m., police arrested Hayward residents Frankie Archuleta, 22, and Jesse Archuleta, 25, just over a half-mile north of the Target store on suspicion of murder. They were placed in the Santa Rita Jail without bail.

Simmons said Griffin had gone to the store to buy presents for his children, "whom he loved dearly."

She said he loved Christmas and always wanted to celebrate the holiday in a big way by making sure the tree was just right, that the lights outside the house were brighter than the neighbors across the street, and that his children had plenty of gifts, according to the East Bay Times.

"Christmas will never be the same for us," she said.

Griffin's mother, Yolanda Lindsey, told ABC 7 that he was a good provider who spent a lot of time with his children.

"Basically Tyrone was a real good father. Every time you see him if he wasn't at work, he was with his children," she said.

In a GoFundMe campaign that has already raised more than $13,000 to help cover the funeral expenses for the loving dad, Simmons further explained that God took one of the "greatest gifts I've ever received."

"What type of person would take a life in front of a child?" she asked.

"My children are fatherless because of a thoughtless act of rage. Something that could have been totally avoided just by walking away. Tyrone was an awesome father, a thoughtful son, a caring brother and a loving husband," she lamented.

"God has taken one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. Even though you blessed us with your short time on this Earth, I truly thank God for you, Tyrone, cause you were more than our 'last minute gift,'" she added.

Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost

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