Los Angeles hospital stabbing: 3 critically injured after Encino attack, suspect in custody
A man is in custody after the LAPD said he stabbed three medical workers inside an Encino hospital.
THE ANGELS – Three medical workers are fighting for their lives after being stabbed inside a hospital in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles on Friday night.
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call shortly after 3:45 p.m. at Encino Hospital Medical Center on Ventura Boulevard. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the three people, all hospital workers, were taken to a local trauma center and are in critical condition.
The hospital was closed before medical workers and patients were told to evacuate safely as the LAPD worked to get the suspect, a man in his 30s, to turn himself in.
It was unknown as of Friday night if the suspect and the stabbing victims knew each other.
Shortly after 8:00 pm, an ambulance with police officers followed the vehicle transporting a man from Encino Hospital Medical Center to another hospital. LAPD later confirmed that it was the stabbing suspect who was being taken to the hospital and that he will be in police custody.
SkyFOX was at a different hospital when the suspect was being taken there after an hour-long standoff with police.
Encino hospital stabbing: 3 medical center workers in critical condition, building on lockdown
The hospital is closed as there is a standoff between law enforcement officers and the stabbing suspect.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE VICTIMS
The hospital identified the three victims as an emergency room doctor and two nurses. Below is a statement issued, in part, by the hospital:
“Three injured at Encino Hospital were two nurses and an ER doctor who were taken to the nearest trauma center. The hospital is currently closed. We continue to monitor the situation and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved.”
Dignity Health Northridge Hospital Medical Center, the facility that took in the three stabbing victims, said in a statement that all three are in stable condition.
Below is a statement released, in part, by Northridge Hospital:
“Dignity Health Northridge Hospital Medical Center received three patients at our Level II Trauma Center suffering from stab wounds from the incident at Encino Hospital Medical Center. All three patients are currently in stable condition. Due to federal law privacy policy, we are unable to provide any additional patient information. We will now refer all questions to the Los Angeles Police Department.”
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SUSPECT
During a news conference shortly after 6:30 pm, the LAPD said the suspect had a criminal record prior to Friday’s incident. Part of the suspect’s history includes resisting arrest and assaulting an officer, the LAPD said. Police said during the news conference that the suspect has a “long” history with officers in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.
The suspect was identified as an adult male, but LAPD did not release any other information.
LAPD said it made outreach efforts with the suspect’s family in hopes of getting the suspect to turn himself in. The confrontation lasted several hours before the man was arrested.
The hospital has security in the building, but the LAPD said it’s not sure if the staff were armed at the time of the stabbing.
The attack comes days after a gunman attacked a Tulsa, Oklahoma hospital. The attack at the St. Francis Health System – Natalie Building ended with four people dead, including the suspect’s surgeon.
HE SUGGESTED: Oklahoma hospital shooting: 4 people dead, suspect dead, Tulsa police say
Before the Tulsa hospital shooting, the US saw other mass shootings, including an attack that killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Reference-www.foxla.com