https://www.kcra.com/article/what-sh...ation/35272499

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. ?

The victim in a deadly stabbing outside a Sacramento County strip mall has been identified as a restaurant inspector for the county, officials say.

Dennis Catanyag was killed last Thursday outside a Little Caesars and the Mosaeic Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant on Fulton Avenue, between Arden and Hurley ways.

An employee at the Little Caesars previously told KCRA 3 that the owner of Mosaeic Mediterranean Cuisine ran into the pizza shop, telling him to lock his door because one of his employees had a large knife.

The man with the knife, identified as Mohammed Anwaribrah Musallam, 38, is accused of attacking two men in the parking lot outside the restaurants. One of the victims, who was stabbed several times, was expected to survive, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office previously reported.

The second victim, identified as Catanyag, tried to get away and stumbled into the nearby busy street. His assailant ultimately caught up with him, stabbing him again. Catanyag was pronounced dead at an area hospital, the sheriff's office said.

?The death of Dennis is an extraordinary loss to his family, the county and the community. Our hearts go out to his friends and family as they cope with this incomprehensible tragedy," acting County Executive Ann Edwards said in a prepared statement. "I would like to thank Sacramento County Sheriff chaplains, who were on hand to support Environmental Management Department employees while they came to terms with the heartbreaking loss of their friend and colleague."

It's unclear what led up to the attack.

Catanyag was a 15-year employee of the Environmental Health Division of the Environmental Management Department, Edwards said in a letter to county employees. He worked in the Sacramento County Food Protection Program, which is responsible for enforcing state and local health codes at retail food facilities in Sacramento County.

"He was a model employee who was dedicated to his family and his job. He had a passion for public service and the health and safety of people in the community. He was very well liked by his colleagues, who enjoyed his lively personality and respected his professional integrity," Edwards' letter reads in part.