Man fatally stabs 4 in California crime spree, police say
A 33- year- old man went on a deadly crime spree Wednesday in Southern California, fatally stabbing four people and injuring two others in what appeared to be random, hate- fueled attacks over three hours before he was arrested, the police said.
The police identified the man Thursday as Zachary Castaneda of Garden Grove, Calif. Mr. Castaneda was taken into custody Wednesday evening at a 7- Eleven convenience store in Santa Ana, Calif., about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Lt. Carl Whitney of the Garden Grove Police Department said.
Lt. Whitney said the police were still compiling Mr. Castaneda’s criminal history, but noted that he had a “violent past” and “gang associations.”
Court records show Mr. Castaneda has been arrested several times in recent years on several drug and gun charges. Mr. Castaneda pleaded guilty in 2014 to felony possession of an assault weapon. In 2009, he pleaded guilty in a felony domestic violence case.
The police said they did not yet know the motive for the attacks, but said Mr. Castaneda was also responsible for several robberies, a number of which were connected to the killings.
“It’s just pure hate — this guy did this,” Lt. Whitney said at a news conference late Wednesday night. “We know this guy was full of anger and he harmed a lot of people tonight.”
At a news conference on Thursday, Lt. Whitney said, “We interviewed the suspect; he continued to fight our detectives through the night. He never told us why he did this.”
Kimberly Edds, the spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney, said in an email on Thursday that prosecutors were reviewing the case to see what charges would be filed. “We expect that charges will be filed tomorrow and the defendant will make his first court appearance tomorrow,” she said.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Castaneda had a lawyer. He was expected to be arraigned on Friday, Lt. Whitney said.
Lt. Whitney said the crimes began around 4 p. m. Wednesday when a burglary was reported at an apartment complex in Garden Grove, a city of 175,000 people next to Santa Ana in Orange County. He said the attacker lived in the apartment complex.
Mr. Castaneda was being held Thursday at the Orange County jail.
Chief Tom DaRe of the Garden Grove Police Department, who spoke at the news conference Wednesday, said, “I would like our community to know there is no threat tonight after this suspect was taken into custody.”
On Thursday he said, “It is my belief that the Garden Grove police officers response and apprehension of this individual saved the lives of many other community members.”