By CapRadio staff, the Associated Press
Updated May 4, 3:01 p.m.:
A 21-year-old who was a student at the University of California, Davis — until last week — was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of committing three recent stabbings, including two that were fatal, city police said.
Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Carlos Domiguez was taken into custody on Tuesday after 15 people called in reports of a person who matched the description of the suspect in a local park. Pytel says that Dominguez had a large knife in his backpack. He was wearing the same clothes described by witnesses who saw the third stabbing.
Pytel says police believe Dominguez is responsible for all three stabbings.
In a statement, UC Davis officials said Dominguez was enrolled in his third year of study. He was “separated” from the university for academic reasons on April 25, they said.
“We are providing support to any students who may have interacted with him,” the statement reads. “We urge the community not to rush to conclusions or speculate until all facts are known. We are grateful for law enforcement’s quick response and resolution during an extremely difficult period for the city and campus.”
The university shifted courses which began after 6 p.m. to a virtual format earlier this week, but Chancellor Gary May said Wednesday that classes will resume as normal now that an arrest has been made.
It wasn't immediately clear if Dominguez had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Original story, published May 2:
Davis residents said they are frightened and on edge after three people were stabbed within a week — two fatally — with the most recent attempt Monday night when an unhoused woman was injured.
Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said he could not say whether officials are searching for one or multiple suspects. He also said he could not recall any incidents like these in his four decades on the Davis police force and neither could officers who go back longer. Two of the victims were unhoused and the third was a college student, he said.
“This is different and the attacks were particularly violent and brazen,” Pytel said at a Tuesday press conference, adding that in the most recent two attacks, the “suspect didn’t seem to care there were several witnesses" who could identify him.
“People are scared,” said Davis Mayor Will Arnold at Tuesday's news conference. “This is an unprecedented and trying time for everyone in our shared community.”
Police issued a shelter-in-place order for residents shortly after Monday’s stabbing was reported, around 11:45 p.m. Several hours later, officers announced the order had been lifted.
It was at that time that police released a description of the suspect, who has not yet been caught: A male with curly hair and a thin build, carrying a brown backpack.
Radhika Gawde, president of the Associated Students of UC Davis, said students stayed up Monday night monitoring police scanner activity and sharing information on social media.
“I think I speak for the whole community here when I say we’re devastated by the loss of our peer," she said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “Our sense of safety has been completely shattered.”
The university announced Tuesday that all classes scheduled after 6 p.m. will be held remotely until further notice. University officials added that they hired private security to patrol the campus on Tuesday evening and that they are expanding their free shuttle service for students.
The first death was reported Thursday before noon when officers say they found an unresponsive male in downtown's Central Park. The victim, David Henry Breaux, 50, was also unhoused.
Breaux was well known in the area for at least the last decade as the “Compassion Guy," the mayor and city council said in a statement. Breaux often greeted people and asked for their views on compassion, according to the statement.
The second stabbing occurred Saturday around 9:15 p.m. when a resident heard a disturbance and went outside to find a young man at Sycamore Park with multiple stab wounds. Authorities identified the victim as Karim Abou Najm, 20, a student at UC Davis and a graduate of Davis High School.
They also have not publicly linked the suspect in the woman's stabbing to the suspect in Najm’s stabbing, who was described by police as having “long curly loose hair” and being about the same height as the suspect in the third stabbing.
The woman, whom police have not identified, is hospitalized and in critical condition.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Pytel said multiple law enforcement agencies are evaluating a large amount of information.
“At this point,” Pytel said, “we're going through hundreds of tips since we put out the information on Thursday. There's been no shortage of people calling in potential information.”
He added the Department of Justice Crime Lab is assisting in evaluating physical evidence in an effort to identify DNA.
Pytel also said he’d been in regular contact with the university’s police department, which is assisting in the investigation and patrolling in the city.
Pytel said he understands the public’s safety concerns, as well as their fears. He recommended that people be aware of their surroundings at all times and, at this time, consider not going out alone at night.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and Sacramento Police Department are among the law enforcement agencies assisting in the investigation.
