Two people were stabbed and a suspect was fatally shot at a Target store in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, Nov. 15, authorities said.
Around 6 p.m, a 40-year-old man entered the store at Figueroa and Seventh Streets and located knives that were Target merchandise, according to Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson Officer Luis Garcia. He then repeatedly threatened a 9-year-old boy’s life and stabbed him in the shoulder; a 25-year-old woman attempted to intervene, but was stabbed in the chest, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said during a news conference.
Shortly after, a Target security officer shot the man after he approached with what appeared to be a large kitchen knife, Moore added. The security officer had previously tried to disarm the subject using a baton.
Meanwhile, others pulled the woman, who was bleeding, into a pharmacy area.
The suspect, who was in police custody at a hospital, died Tuesday evening, Moore said. The stabbing victims, who did not know the attacker, were in critical condition, Garcia said.
NEW: @LAPDChiefMoore says the suspect who went on a stabbing rampage is dead after being shot by @Target security. Moore says a 9 y/o boy was violently stabbed after the suspect, who is homeless, said he was going to kill him. A woman was stabbed in the chest and is in surgery. pic.twitter.com/mR1pgDhNEO
— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersTV) November 16, 2022
The boy had been shopping with his mother at the store, but she was not present when the stabbing occurred, Moore said. A third person sustained minor injuries as people rapidly fled the store, he said.
“Out of nowhere, we heard people screaming,” Kevin Zaragoza, who was shopping at the store with his brother, told KABC-TV. “We rushed to the front. Right there by the exit we see a girl on the floor, blood all over her.”
“After that, we see the whole LAPD swarming in there with shotguns, all types of stuff. It was crazy.”
The suspect’s name was not immediately available.
It wasn’t immediately known if police have learned of a motive for the attack.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
