A former mayor of Fall River released a statement early Tuesday, his first public remarks since he was stabbed last week.

Will Flanagan , who served as mayor from 2010 to 2014, was stabbed around 5 p.m. on Oct. 20 near the cannabis dispensary where he works as CEO. Flanagan sustained “significant injuries” and was rushed to a hospital.

“I came face-to-face with death,” Flanagan wrote in a statement posted to Facebook .

The man charged with the stabbing, 31-year-old Corree Gonzales , was “lost in psychosis,” Flanagan said.

“I can still feel the weight of those moments. The sound. The fear. The realization that I might never see my family again,” Flanagan wrote. “I remember falling, feeling my own blood, and praying — not for myself, but for one more chance."

He thanked God for giv

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