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Suspect in assault by fake firefighter caughtFugitive stabbed himself when confronted, police say
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- A man believed to have entered a woman's home posing as a New York City firefighter and sexually assaulting her for 12 hours on Halloween stabbed himself Friday in Memphis, Tennessee, as authorities approached him, law enforcement officials said. Peter Braunstein, a 41-year-old freelance writer who police say stabbed himself in the neck, was in fair condition at Regional Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Kathy Stringer. Witness Wesley Gifford said he was walking in the area of the University of Memphis campus when he saw an officer draw his gun on the suspect and try to pepper-spray him. He said the suspect turned his back to the officer and stabbed himself in the neck. "He fell over, keeled over, down on his knees -- blood spread everywhere. He tried to get up one more time, and he wasn't getting up," he told CNN-affiliate WHBQ. Linda Bonnin, the university's associate vice president for marketing communications, said a university employee spotted Braunstein on campus at 2 p.m. and alerted police. Another official said the employee had seen Braunstein on television, and knew he was a fugitive. New York police said they received a tip after Braunstein was featured Monday on "America's Most Wanted." Someone who saw the show reported that Braunstein had donated blood in Memphis on November 28. Braunstein, who received $20 for his blood donation, told workers he needed money to get to Kansas. Braunstein's father, Alberto, told CNN that when he heard his son was wanted for questioning, "It was just devastating, devastating, because reading about it, my first thought was anyone who could commit such a thing must be emotionally disturbed." New York authorities have been pursuing Braunstein since he left New York November 2. Police believe he fled initially to Cleveland, Ohio, where he checked in and out of various hotels, including the Days Inn. On November 18, acting on a tip that Braunstein might be in the Oberlin, Ohio, area, New York police went to the Midwestern town, but found no trace of him. There were reports that Braunstein might be staying with a friend in Oberlin. 
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