A girl believed to be about 10 years old and her grandfather were stabbed Friday in Sunland, and the suspect fled the scene in the victims’ car, but he was taken into custody after an hours-long search.
The stabbing was reported about 7:45 a.m. in the 10300 block of Eldora Avenue, according to police and fire department officials.
Two people — the roughly 10-year-old girl and a man believed to be in his 70s — were taken to a hospital, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Police told reporters at the scene late Friday morning the victims were still alive with stable vital signs.
The grandfather was about to take the girl to school when the suspect, described as a 31-year-old transient whose family lives in the area, attacked them apparently without provocation and stabbed them both.
The suspect then drove off in the man’s car, which was already running, authorities said. The vehicle was found about a mile away, but the suspect was gone.
After an hours-long search, police told reporters at the scene Friday afternoon that the suspect had been taken into custody near Oro Vista Avenue and Grove Street, roughly a mile from the crime scene. His name was not immediately released.
Mike Agajanyan, a neighbor, told reporters the girl was stabbed in an arm, while the grandfather was stabbed in the neck and an arm. He said the man has caused problems in the area in the past.
“I hate to use the word, but he’s been terrorizing the neighborhood,” he said. “… We don’t know if it was drugs, alcohol, but something was it for him to act this way. So unfortunately it had to come to this situation, and my body’s shaking. I’m just so angry.”
The suspect’s father told CBS LA that his son suffers from mental health issues.