A 32-year-old man from San Bernardino was fatally stabbed Friday in Long Beach by an employee of a liquor store who said it was self defense.

Officers were dispatched to the area of Pacific Coast Highway and Cedar Avenue about 10:35 a.m., according to the Long Beach Police Department.

A liquor store employee had called authorities and reported that he was assaulted by a man and defended himself by stabbing the assault suspect, police said.

The suspect fled after the stabbing, and authorities located him on the sidewalk suffering from a stab wound in his upper body, according to police.

Officers treated him until Long Beach Fire Department personnel arrived and took him to a hospital, where he died, police said.

The liquor store employee, along with another employee, cooperated with homicide detectives. Neither needed medical attention.

The name of the man who was killed will be released once his family is notified. The liquor store employee is described as a 51-year-old resident of Norwalk.

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