A horrific stabbing spree in Garden Grove and Santa Ana, California, left four people dead and at least two others seriously injured on Wednesday, August 7, 2019. Local police described the attacks as acts of “pure evil.” The suspect, a 33-year-old Hispanic male from Garden Grove, was apprehended outside a 7-Eleven store in Santa Ana after a series of robberies and violent assaults across multiple locations.
The series of events unfolded across eight separate crime scenes in the two Orange County cities. The initial call came in shortly after 4 p.m. regarding a burglary at an apartment complex on Jentges Avenue in Garden Grove. Upon arrival, officers found the apartment ransacked.
At approximately 4:23 p.m., police responded to a report of a robbery at a bakery on Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove. Fortunately, no one was injured during this incident. Investigators noted that the suspect was driving a silver Mercedes.
The violence escalated when officers were called back to the same apartment complex on Jentges Avenue shortly after 5 p.m. There, they discovered that the suspect had returned and stabbed two men who resided in the apartment. One victim was found inside the apartment, while the other was located outside. Tragically, one man was pronounced dead at the scene, and the second succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital.
At 5:40 p.m., police were dispatched to a robbery in progress at Cash N More on Harbor Boulevard. No injuries were reported in that incident. However, about 25 minutes later, another robbery in progress was reported at Best One insurance agency, located at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Garden Grove Boulevard. A witness reported that a female employee was stabbed multiple times before the suspect fled. Police confirmed that the victim was conscious and talking and was expected to survive.
The stabbing spree continued, with police receiving a call about another stabbing at a Chevron gas station at Harbor Boulevard and Banner Drive around 6:09 p.m. A man pumping gas was confronted and attacked by the suspect. Witnesses described the suspect using “multiple knives or machetes” during the assault. The victim sustained a severe laceration to his face, with his nose nearly severed, as well as stab wounds to his back. He was transported to a local hospital and was expected to survive.
Around 6:25 p.m., plainclothes Garden Grove investigators located the suspect’s silver Mercedes at a 7-Eleven store at Harbor and 1st Street in Santa Ana. Officers confronted the suspect as he exited the store, carrying a knife and a handgun. The suspect complied with officers’ demands, dropped both weapons, and was taken into custody.
Prior to his arrest, the suspect had disarmed a security guard inside the 7-Eleven and stabbed him. The security guard was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Officers at the scene learned of another murder that had occurred shortly before their arrival at a Subway restaurant across the street. The suspect had viciously assaulted a customer during a robbery inside the restaurant. Despite life-saving efforts by Santa Ana police and paramedics, the man did not survive.
Police reported that all deceased victims were Hispanic males. As of the time of the report, authorities did not have a clear motive for the attacks. Lt. Carl Whitney of the Garden Grove Police Department described the attacks as random acts of violence, stating that the suspect was not associated with any of the victims. “Robbery, hate, homicide. This is all of the above,” Whitney said. “It’s just pure tragedy right now.”
The series of crimes remained under investigation by both the Garden Grove and Santa Ana Police Departments.