Man accused of stabbing victim in head with knife

In print: Saturday, March 29, 2008

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ADVERTISEMENT Rubin Takbir “Short Dog” Hamidullah, 30, said the stabbing was in self-defense, police say. He is charged with attempted second-degree murder.

TAMPA — Just after midnight Friday morning, a man stumbled on the pavement and fell next to his car in a parking lot at 3720 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., and as he struggled to regain his footing, police say, someone moved toward him with a knife.

Rubin Takbir Hamidullah, 30, stabbed the fallen man in the head, shoulders and back, according to an arrest affidavit filed by a Tampa police detective. The attack was made "without cause or provocation," the officer wrote.

Hamidullah, 5 feet 2, a.k.a. "Short Dog," with no known address, was apprehended Friday afternoon and admitted inflicting the injuries but said he acted in self-defense, according to police.

He was charged with attempted second-degree murder, and booked into the Orient Road Jail, where he was being held Friday night without bail.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show that Hamidullah was previously pleaded guilty in 1999 to battery in a domestic violence case, and a charge of aggravated assault in 2000.

Hamidullah lived with his father until about five years ago, according to the father, who is also named Rubin Hamidullah. The elder Hamidullah, 74, said that his son started getting into trouble, and he told him to move out.

"I couldn't do no more for him," he said.

Andrew Meacham can be reached at (813) 661-2431 or ameacham@sptimes.com.