Homeless man stabs boy, 7, and woman, 25, with a butcher knife in LA before security guard shoots him dead
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: After walking into a Target store and stabbing two people, including a seven-year-old boy, with a large butcher knife he snatched off a shelf, a homeless man was reportedly shot and killed by a security guard. The incident happened at the store near Figueroa and 7th Streets in Los Angeles, around 6.20 pm on Tuesday, November 15.
According to ABC News, the man entered the store and then approached the boy with a butcher knife with a 9-inch blade, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said.
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"(He) confronted him and told the young boy he was going to stab him and kill him," Moore said, adding, "He repeated that more than once. The young child attempted to flee, leave, ignore him, and move away. Without any further provocation, the suspect suddenly attacked and stabbed this child in the back." The suspect ran towards a group of women then and "brutally" stabbed a 25-year-old among them in the chest, Moore said. The child reportedly collapsed due to the injuries he had sustained.
According to ABC's Los Angeles affiliate KABC, a group of well-meaning bystanders pulled the injured woman into a pharmacy and shut the gate behind them. When the suspect walked to the front of the shop, an armed security guard there reportedly used his baton to try to stop him before drawing his gun when the suspect refused to back down, according to KABC.
Very soon, the guard shot the suspect in the chest as Los Angeles Police Department officers, who happened to be in the adjoining shopping center next to Target, got there and took the homeless man into custody. The incident caused a stampede in which a woman was crushed and as a result sustained facial bruises.
"Out of nowhere, we heard people screaming," Kevin Zaragoza, who was shopping at Target with his brother at the time of the stabbings, told KABC following the incident. "We rushed to the front. Right by the exit, we see a girl on the floor, blood all over her. After that, we see the whole LAPD swarming with shotguns and all types of stuff. It was crazy."
The boy has undergone surgery is currently in stable condition, according to officials. The woman was also rushed to a hospital. The homeless man was not related to either of the victims, per authorities, who are yet to provide an update on her condition.
The suspect died while in hospital, according to the police, who added that they were still investigating the incident, according to ABC.