Garden Grove stabbing spree: A timeline of the attacks that killed 4 and wounded 2

Garden Grove stabbing spree: A timeline of the attacks that killed 4 and wounded 2

by Alma Fausto

Police have yet to publicly identify a 33-year-old Garden Grove man who went on a killing spree Wednesday, August 7 that spread from Garden Grove to Santa Ana but released details of his more than two-hour stabbing rampage of seemingly random victims.

The rash of violence is the deadliest seen in Orange County in several years. The four dead are all men; two  others were hospitalized –  a 54-year-old woman and 44-year-old man. None of their names have been released.

Investigators were trying to determine what motivated the killer, who they believe didn’t know any of this victims, said Garden Grove Lt. Carl Whitney.

“You see this once in a career,” Whitney, a 33-year law enforcement veteran, said of the deadly attacks.

Authorities say the crimes started as robberies, the first being a residential burglary at around 4 p.m. and ended about two hours later when the suspect was arrested outside a 7-Eleven in Santa Ana. Officers also found weapons on the scene, one of them appearing to be a large knife.

The initial call at about 4:09 p.m. was at an apartment complex complex at 12162 Jentges Avenue when a caller reported his apartment had been burglarized and the suspect had fled. At around 4:23 p.m. a caller reported that a man with a gun had robbed a bakery at 13040 Chapman Avenue. The caller reported seeing the suspect leaving in a silver Mercedes.

Minutes later at 5:04 p.m. someone called police reporting that two men had been stabbed in front of an apartment at 12162 Jentges Avenue, the scene of the original burglary. Police say the suspect returned to the apartment. When officers arrived they found the men stabbed several times, one of them inside and the other outside the home. One of the men was pronounced dead on scene while the other was taken to a hospital but died shortly after.

At 5:39 p.m. a man matching the description of the suspect threatened and stole cash from a customer inside a Cash & More at 12845 Chapman Avenue. By then police had broadcast the license plate of the suspect’s car to police units.

Minutes later at 6:06 p.m. a silent robbery alarm went off at Best One Insurance in the 12800 block of Harbor Boulevard. The alarm company reported that a live camera feed from the business saw a female employee down on the ground and heavily bleeding. A fellow employee reported the 54-year-old woman had been stabbed multiple times by someone who also matched the description of the suspect. She was taken to a hospital and was in critical condition.

“She fought as best she could,” Whitney said of the woman on the day of the attacks.

Minutes later at 6:09 p.m. police received several calls about another stabbing at the Chevron gas station in the 13300 block of Harbor Boulevard about one-half mile away from the previous stabbing. A man pumping gas was attacked by a similar suspect carrying a machete-type knife and nearly had his nose severed off and was stabbed in the back, police said.

The suspect fled once again as bystanders and witnesses tried to help the 44-year-old victim. He was taken to a hospital.

At 6:16 p.m. the spree had seemingly moved to Santa Ana when officers were called to a Subway at the 3800 block of First Street when a man matching the suspect’s description stabbed another man multiple times. He later died from his injuries. The suspect then moved his rampage across the street to a 7-Eleven in the 100 block of Harbor Boulevard.

Undercover detectives found the suspect’s silver Mercedes at about 6:25 p.m. and called for backup when they saw him leave the convenience store armed with a large knife and handgun. They ordered him to drop his weapons and he complied and was taken into custody.

After the arrest, customers at the store told detectives there was a security guard stabbed inside the store. Witnesses told police the suspect took the guard’s gun before stabbing him several times. The guard was gravely wounded. Officers did CPR and he was taken to a trauma center but succumbed to his injuries.

This is a developing story. 

All credit goes to Alma Fausto
Originally published on https://www.dailynews.com