Family and friends of a man who tragically lost his life in a deadly mass stabbing in Huntington Beach on the Fourth of July gathered Sunday to dedicate a bench along the beach in his name.
Eric Hodges, 42, along with another victim, 47-year-old William “Bill” Collins, were celebrating Independence Day with a large group of people near 16th Street and Pecan Avenue around 11 p.m. when the tragedy occurred.
Amid the celebrations, authorities say a suspect in a Mini Cooper pulled up, exited the vehicle and began stabbing people. It was later learned that the suspect was on hallucinogenics.
The assailant was tackled by two men and held until police arrived.
Hodges was stabbed in the heart. Collins was stabbed in the lung and neck. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Three others suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
“By the time I came out there, he’d been killed, and Bill has been killed and a bunch of other people were stabbed,” Hodges longtime friend Adam Cook told KTLA at Sunday’s ceremony. “It was just shocking, and it was completely out of the blue. The whole thing was totally unprovoked.”
Eric Hodges, 42, is pictured with his fiancée, Jourdan. (Adam Cook) 
A bench in Huntington Beach dedicated to Eric Hodges, one of two victims fatally stabbed on July 4, 2024. (KTLA) 
Friends and family gathered to dedicate bench in honor of Eric Hodges who was one of two victims of a deadly mass stabbing on July 4, 2024, in Huntington Beach. (KTLA) Eric Hodges is seen with friends. (Adam Cook) Adam Cook and Eric Hodges pictured together during happier times. (Adam Cook) Eric Hodges, 42, is pictured with his fiancée, Jourdan. (Adam Cook)
The 42-year-old was set to get married in September. Instead of being his groomsmen, his friends became his pallbearers.
Now, a little more than three months after the tragedy, loved ones have created a forever memorial for their beloved friend, son and fiancé.
“It’s a good day to finally put it at rest,” Hodges friend Greg Escalante said. “But I love him and miss him. He was an amazing friend and such a giver and had such a big heart and that’s what’s hard.”
Jack Cain, another of the 42-year-old’s many friends, described Hodges as someone who lit up the room and made everybody happy. Cain said he wanted to make sure Hodge’s family always had a place to go, a dedicated bench along the water, when they were missing him.
“It’s never going to bring him back, but he was just special,” Cain explained. “He loved the city and everybody in the city loved him and it’s such a great place to be and to be able to celebrate him.
Hodges’ memory will now live on not just for family and friends, but for the millions of tourists who will have a front seat to one of his favorite places in his honor.
“Every time he would put his arm on me, and he would say, ‘Look at this, man. Look how lucky we are,’” Cook said. “He would say that all the time and now there’s a bench in his favorite spot.”
A GoFundMe campaign was organized to help fund the memorial bench on 16th Street for those who wish to donate.
