What to know about the three stabbings in Davis, California: Former UC Davis student arrested
A former University of California, Davis, student was arrested Thursday for allegedly committing three stabbings in the last week, authorities said.
Carlos Dominguez, 21, was detained Wednesday as a person of interest after 15 people called in reports of a person who matched the description of the suspect at a local park, Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Thursday. Pytel added that Dominguez had a large knife in his backpack and was wearing the same clothes described by witnesses who saw the third stabbing.
"He was out wandering a neighborhood where the second homicide had occurred. He had a large knife in a backpack, wearing the same clothes from the third stabbing," Pytel said during a news conference Thursday. "That’s highly unusual and unique."
Davis Police booked Dominguez at Yolo County Jail on Thursday for a weapons violation relating to the knife he possessed. He was then officially placed under arrest on two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder. Two of the victims who were stabbed were homeless and the third was a college student, Pytel said.
Davis Police said detectives served a related search warrant at Dominguez's Davis residence and "significant and related evidence has already been discovered."
Here's what we know about the three stabbings around Davis.
Who are the victims?
The first victim, David Henry Breaux, 50, was killed April 27 at Central Park. Police found Breaux unresponsive and hunched over a bench, Pytel said.
The second victim, UC Davis senior Karim Abou Najm, 20, was fatally stabbed on Saturday at Sycamore Park. Najm was found with multiple stab wounds by a nearby resident who heard a disturbance.
The third victim, Kimberlee Guillory, was stabbed several times Monday through her tent. Davis police Lt. Dan Beckwith said Guillory is in her 60s and remains hospitalized after being severely wounded.
“In less than a week, three stabbings that resulted in two deaths have occurred in our normally quiet and peaceful town and there is a lot of anxiety on what this means and what will be done,” the City of Davis and UC Davis said in a joint statement Wednesday.
Who is the stabber?
Police described the Davis stabbing suspect as a man with light complexion, curly hair and a thin build, standing about 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-9. He was carrying a brown backpack.
Pytel said Thursday that Dominguez was a student at UC Davis until last week. UC Davis officials said in a statement that Dominguez was a third-year student majoring in biological sciences until April 25, “when he was separated for academic reasons.”
Pytel said police do not know yet if Dominguez knew his victims and did not disclose a motive for the stabbings.
How is UC Davis responding?
UC Davis police provided extra security Monday night after the fatal stabbings in the city. On Tuesday, the campus announced that nighttime instruction would temporarily be remote.
"Out of an abundance of caution, UC Davis is transitioning to emergency remote instruction for all courses ending after 6 p.m.," Distinguished Professor Ahmet Palazoglu, chair of the Davis Division, reported after a special meeting.
UC Davis also provided safety guidance to students, which included advising students to consider going remote and to not walk or travel alone.
In response to the arrest, school officials said students who may have interacted with Dominguez will be provided support. The campus intends to resume nighttime instruction on May 8, UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May said Thursday.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Davis, California, stabbings: Police arrest former UC Davis student
