Long Beach police arrest man in ‘unprovoked’ stabbings that left 1 dead, 3 wounded
A man has been taken into police custody for allegedly stabbing a man numerous times in the head and upper body early Sunday in the popular area known as South Park.
Officers arrested a 24-year-old man who investigators believe acted without premeditation in the vicious stabbings.
It all happened in South Park at around 3:20 a.m. Sunday, leading to a bloody 24-hour crime rampage that began with an argument between two men, both of whom had been drinking, and escalated into the worst case of violence at a Los Angeles County fairgrounds in recent years.
The man arrested is expected to be booked into Los Angeles County jail for attempted murder and being on the scene of a crime.
A police spokesman said the two victims were taken to a hospital to receive treatment for their injuries.
Earlier, a 36-year-old man was critically wounded in what police described as a random drive-by shooting as he sat in his car and watched the stabbings. The man was hit in the back, side, buttocks and upper torso. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and is now expected to survive.
The pair, both of whom were in their 20s, were both from the city of Compton, and the victim said he and his brother were visiting relatives in nearby Carson.
A woman who said she was the victim’s sister told KTLA he was on his way to their home in Compton when he was stabbed and hit a second time after getting out to put gas in his car and was then taken to a hospital.
Police said Sunday’s violence was sparked by a disagreement between two men leaving an Amoco gas station near the fairgrounds, about two miles away from the home of the victims in South Park.
The two men, both described as being in their 20s, were involved in a brief argument. One of them retrieved a knife from his car and began to stab the other man at the gas station.
In the chaos, a man who police said was with the two men at the gas station was taken into custody. He has been questioned and released by detectives.
Police said they were looking at several suspects in the case but have not concluded who they believe may have acted without premeditation.
