Paula Dayana survived the attack inside the stationery store where she worked. Now, her family says the 18-year-old is recovering from physical wounds while facing the fear of leaving the hospital before her attacker is found. The case has renewed scrutiny of robbery reports, policing in commercial areas, and the support available to crime victims in Puerto Vallarta. The harder question now rests with the authorities, who are being asked to make an arrest, not another statement of concern.
Young stabbing victim remains afraid after Puerto Vallarta robbery
A young Puerto Vallarta stationery-store employee stabbed during a robbery remains hospitalized and afraid to leave until the attacker is caught, according to a May 28 update on the case. Her mother is demanding that authorities find the man who injured her daughter and fled after the assault.
The victim has been identified in local reports as Paula Dayana Tello Hernández, 18. She was working inside a stationery store on Bugambilias Street in the colonia 10 de Mayo area when a man entered, asked for a copy, and attacked her with a sharp weapon, according to an early report based on emergency response information.
Police and emergency responders were called after the attack. The young woman was taken to the Hospital Regional with wounds reported on her left side and injuries to her arm and hand. Investigators from the Fiscalía de Jalisco later arrived to begin inquiries, according to the same report.
Her mother says fear has followed her into recovery
Paula Dayana’s mother, Rosa María Hernández, said her daughter is recovering but remains under medical observation. She said the young woman suffered a stomach perforation, a wound to an arm, and an injury near the rib area. Rosa also said her daughter had not yet been able to eat and was being watched until doctors allowed her to begin taking liquids.
“She feels very powerless, she feels unsafe, she does not want to leave the hospital until she knows the person who hurt her is receiving the punishment he deserves,” Hernández said in a family interview after the attack.
Her mother asked that the case not disappear into the pile of unresolved violence. “Please, do not let this go unpunished. Do not let it be one more case. Do not let my daughter be a number, a statistic,” she said.
Hernández also thanked people who have supported the family and urged anyone with information to share it with authorities. “If you know any information, please do not stay quiet,” she said.
School community demands an arrest
Paula Dayana is a student at the Preparatoria Regional de Puerto Vallarta of the Universidad de Guadalajara. The school community issued a public statement demanding an immediate investigation and the capture of the person responsible.
“Being wounded with a knife during a robbery is not only a direct attack on her physical integrity and her life. It deeply wounds our entire school community,” the school said in its public statement after the stabbing.
The school also called for more patrols and prevention strategies in commercial zones, work areas, and routes used by students. “Use all legal and investigative resources to find the whereabouts of the attackers immediately. This act of violence cannot go unpunished,” the statement said.
As of the latest reviewed reports on Thursday, no arrest had been publicly confirmed in the case. The continuing search for the attacker keeps pressure on local and state authorities, especially after a recent review of Puerto Vallarta robbery complaints found 389 robbery complaints from January through April, with increases in business and person robberies.
The case amid broader security pressure
The attack has drawn attention because it happened inside a small workplace, during daytime business activity, and against a young employee who was not reported to have resisted. Surveillance video described in several reports shows the attacker entering as a customer before the assault. One report said he took cash and a laptop after stabbing her.
Federal security officials said in late April that Guardia Nacional personnel were conducting patrols in plazas, commercial zones, parks, schools, and housing areas across several Jalisco municipalities, including Puerto Vallarta. Those activities were described as part of public order, crime prevention, and social proximity work.
That broader security presence has not answered the family’s immediate demand. The case is now centered on two needs. One is investigative, with the mother and school community demanding the attacker’s arrest. The other is medical and psychological, because the young woman’s recovery now includes the fear of returning to normal life.
Jalisco’s state victim-services program says crime victims may receive free specialized legal guidance, representation in criminal matters, immediate assistance, psychological care, medical attention, and social-work support through the state commission for victim attention. The public record reviewed for this article did not confirm whether the family has been connected with those services.
