After three stabbings within a week, a small university town in northern California is on edge.
A University of California, Davis student and a homeless person were killed in two of the stabbings.
On Monday, a homeless woman was repeatedly stabbed through her tent in the most recent instance.
No one has been arrested, and Davis police have not indicated if they are looking for one or more suspects.
Mayor Will Arnold stated at a press conference on Tuesday that “people are scared.”
According to Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel, “the attacks were particularly violent and brazen,” and that the “suspect didn’t seem to care that there were several witnesses” in the two most recent stabbings.
In his forty years of service to the city’s police department, he claimed he could not recall any incidents similar to this.
According to Mr. Pytel, the first victim, 50-year-old David Henry Breaux, was discovered on a bench where he frequently ate and slept on Thursday.
Karim Abou Najm, a 20-year-old student, was the second casualty. The computer science major was killed by a knife at Sycamore Park on Saturday night, just six weeks before he was set to graduate.
The tweet below confirms the news:
Three stabbings in a week leave Californian city on edge https://t.co/sNSdVUm4Aa
— BBC North America (@BBCNorthAmerica) May 3, 2023
Third Stabbing at Homeless Camp Leaves Victim in Severe Conditions
On Monday, just before midnight, there was a third stabbing at a homeless camp. The unidentified victim was stabbed multiple times through her tent and is in severe condition, according to Mr. Pytel.
After the most recent stabbing, police issued a shelter-in-place order; however, they eventually removed it because no suspect had been located.
According to Mr. Pytel, the assailant was characterized as a male with long, curly hair and a skinny physique; he claimed that this description matched the assailant in the second stabbing.
Insisting that his department was going through hundreds of tips and looking for DNA evidence, he cautioned the community to exercise caution and maintain vigilance.
“This is too much,” one student wrote on Twitter. “I’m looking around at my peers terrified at the possibilities. This is traumatic.”
The Davis Police Department is receiving assistance from the FBI and other law enforcement organizations.
“I am freaked out about it,” Nikki Moreno, a UC Davis student, told The Sacramento Bee newspaper. “I think after this third one, I am more fearful. It doesn’t seem like this is a person who’s targeting people.”
Tuesday, UC Davis chancellor Gary May issued a message informing students of new security measures. They consist of adding more security cameras and moving all classes ending after 18:00 to the internet.
“I assure you the safety of our campus community is our top priority as we deal with the rash of violent stabbings in Davis,” Mr May said.
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