TAMPA, Fla. – Hillsborough County The Sheriff’s Office is launching an investigation into the stabbing death of a 19-year-old teenager last weekend.

Arnold Gutierrez was killed Sunday at the Carrollwood Apartments on Northgreen Boulevard in Northgreen.

FOX 13 spoke with the victim’s grieving family, who said the teen was on his way to help friends in need when the stabbing occurred.

The family of 19-year-old Arnold Gutierrez is grieving his death after he was stabbed to death at an apartment complex in Hillsborough County last weekend. (Courtesy: Elena Saggioro)

“She was a really good friend,” Virginia Rosa said.

Rosa said her son is passionate about fishing as well as his friendships. She said Arnold’s friends always knew they had a safe place to stay at his home.

“They knew they had a home to sleep in at night, and they would bring their friends,” Rosa said.

PRE: Arrest in fatal stabbing in Tampa: HCSO

It was that loyalty that brought him to the apartment complex early Sunday morning, his older sister, Elena, said.

Investigators said there was an argument between Arnold and the suspect, Michael Aldana.

Mugshot of Michael Aldana. (Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office).

His sister Elena said it was more than that. He said he was home, asleep around 1 a.m., and received a call from a friend asking for help. The friend said she and a 16-year-old girl were unsafe in the same apartment as the suspect, Michael Aldana.

“He could have called the police and the police could have intervened. I truly believe that if they had called the police in the beginning, he would have been alive. But brother, I’m just trying to be a good friend.” “He went there,” he said.

After helping his friends safely exit the apartment, Arnold was allegedly stabbed by Aldana while trying to get into the car.

Hillsborough County deputies say 19-year-old Arnold Gutierrez was stabbed to death Sunday at an apartment complex in Carrollwood.

At the hospital, his mother said she learned that her son had been stabbed multiple times. He couldn’t see his son’s funeral

“We were not so prepared for a 19-year-old boy to be killed like this,” Elena said.

The family said they are not only suffering from an unexpected loss, but also unexpected funeral expenses.

“There’s not an approved funeral home or even a cemetery. It’s all up in the air,” he said.

The family of 19-year-old Arnold Gutierrez is grieving his death after he was stabbed to death at an apartment complex in Hillsborough County last weekend. (Courtesy: Elena Saggioro)

Despite her own pain, Arnold’s mother made a meaningful gift and donated her eyes so someone else could see again.

“They told me that someone needed eyes. I wanted to say no, but I want to see those eyes again. And I will know that those are my son’s eyes,” she said.

While the investigation continues, they want everyone involved in her death to be held accountable.

Aldana is charged with first-degree murder.

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