Davis, California, knife attacks: College students told to shelter in place after 3rd stabbing in a week near campus
CNN —
Students at the University of California, Davis, should stay indoors as police hunt for a suspect after a third knife attack following two fatal stabbings in less than a week near campus, authorities said.
The startling advice for students not to venture out follows the killings Saturday evening of a UC Davis senior and Thursday of a 50-year-old man at different parks near campus. About 40,000 students are enrolled at the public university in Davis, a city of some 68,000 people about a 20-minute drive west of the state capital, Sacramento.
Police received a call about the third stabbing at 11:46 p.m. Monday, according to a news release from the city, which said the attack “occurred in a known transient camp” around 2nd and L streets.
The female victim told police the suspect stabbed her more than once through a tent, the release said. She was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, where she is in critical condition.
City officials described the suspect as a man with curly hair, a thin build and a light complexion between 5-foot-6 and -9 inches tall. He was wearing a black or blue sweatshirt, black pants with white stripes and was carrying a brown backpack.
“The suspect matches the description of previous stabbing incidents,” campus police said early Tuesday as they announced the shelter-in-place alert shortly after the latest attack.
The suspect in Saturday’s deadly knife attack is believed to be a “light-skinned male, possibly Hispanic,” between 19 and 23 years old and between 5-foot-7 and -8 inches tall with long curly hair, city police in Davis, California, said Sunday in a news release.
A University of California, Davis, senior was stabbed to death Saturday evening at a park near campus. KCRA
The FBI has joined state and local law enforcement in a manhunt for the suspect.
Extra officers were being deployed to patrol around schools and parks, the Davis Police Department said Sunday, adding it “understands the uncertainty, fear and panic that is arising in the community.”
“At this time, it is strongly recommended that the community remain vigilant, be aware of your surroundings, and call the Davis Police Department if anyone acting violent, suspicious or matching the description provided is seen,” police said.
Extra patrols also were being added on campus and the UC Davis Police Safe Rides Program, which offers free rides and walking escorts to students on campus after dark, would expand, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May announced Sunday, calling the student’s death “deeply unsettling.”
UC Davis Police announced Monday evening the school had enlisted additional personnel through a private Sacramento-based security firm.
Police work the scene of a stabbing in Davis on Thursday. KCRA
Authorities Monday were still probing the deaths of UC Davis computer science major Karim Abou Najm at Sycamore Park and David Breaux at nearby Central Park. Tips had led to some arrests “on unrelated charges or outstanding warrants, although none of these individuals have been linked to the murders,” city police said.
“Although there are common factors between these two brutal crimes, such as the brutal nature of the crimes and that the suspect likely used a knife, there are no known connections between the victims; investigators are still determining whether the incidents are linked,” they said.
Source: CNN
