DAVIS, CA — A former University of California, Davis student has been arrested and charged in connection with a series of stabbings that left two men dead, one woman critically injured, and cast a shroud of fear and uncertainty over the city in recent days, authorities said.
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Carlos Dominguez, 21, was taken into custody after he was reported Wednesday by more than a dozen members of the public to be wandering in Sycamore Park, where one of the killings occurred, while wearing clothing that matched the suspect description, according to police. Dominguez, who the Davis Enterprise reported is formerly from Oakland, had a large hunting knife when he was stopped by authorities and has since been charged with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder, police said.
“A murderer is off the streets and our families will sleep easier tonight,” Davis Mayor Will Arnold said at a press conference streamed on Facebook Live, calling the killings “horrific, brutal attacks.”
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A third-year student at UC Davis, Dominguez was separated from the university April 25 for academic reasons, according to the school.
“We are partnering with law enforcement to provide access to any and all information as part of the investigation,” the university said Thursday in a prepared statement. “We are providing support to any students who may have interacted with him. As we learn more and are able to provide updates that do not interfere with the ongoing investigation, we will do so.”
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Dominguez had a reserved demeanor and spoke with police for a long time after he was stopped Wednesday by law enforcement, Chief Darren Pytel told the media Thursday, adding he did not know if Dominguez had a criminal record. No information has surfaced to indicate that Dominguez knew the victims or was targeting a specific community, according to Pytel, who said there was evidence the victims fought back and that Dominguez had suffered injuries to his hands and wrists.
“These crimes were horrific, they’re hard to imagine — they struck fear in the community,” Pytel said at the press conference.
The first victim was 50-year-old David Breaux, who was stabbed repeatedly and fatally April 27 in Central Park, according to police.
“It was apparent that it was a particularly brazen and brutal attack,” Pytel said.
On Saturday, 20-year-old UC Davis student and Davis High School graduate Karim Abou Najm was killed in a stabbing in Sycamore Park, according to police, who said witnesses saw part of the attack and briefly interacted with the suspect.
The third victim underwent surgery and was recovering after she was stabbed repeatedly Monday through her tent in a transient camp at 2nd and L streets, police said.
In the intervening days, law enforcement searched for a suspect, collecting biological evidence from the crime scenes and at one point instituting a shelter-in-place order, according to authorities.
Police were serving a search warrant Thursday at the Hawthorne Lane house that Dominguez shared with roommates, Pytel said, adding Dominguez was at the Yolo County jail and could be arraigned as soon as Monday.
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