By ABC
The FBI is helping investigate three “brazen” stabbings — two of which killed a college senior and a homeless man — within one week in Davis, California, according to police.
Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Tuesday that authorities are still investigating whether the stabbings are related, though he noted that the suspect descriptions for Monday night’s and Saturday night’s attacks are “substantially similar.”
“We aren’t able yet to positively link the three crimes,” the chief said.
“We’re still waiting for evidence to come back.”
The most recent stabbing took place at about 11:45 p.m. Monday at a transient camp in Davis, about 15 miles west of Sacramento.
A woman said she was stabbed multiple times through her tent, police said. The victim underwent surgery and is in “critical but stable condition,” Pytel said.
She “was able to provide a description of the assailant and she was able to tell us what happened,” the chief said.
UC Davis said in a statement, “He is described as a male wearing all dark clothing, possibly a blue shirt and jeans, carrying a black backpack and wearing black Adidas shoes with stripes.”
UC Davis said it issued “a campus WarnMe message” around 1 a.m. Tuesday. The city initiated a “shelter in place” order overnight that was lifted several hours later.
Just days earlier, around 9:15 p.m. Saturday, UC Davis senior Karim Abou Najm, a 20-year-old computer science major, was stabbed to death at Davis’ Sycamore Park, according to the university and police.
“Karim was a wonder of energy, a free spirit, someone who just wants to see goodness around him,” his father, Majdi Abou Najm, told Sacramento ABC affiliate KXTV.
“I am simply devastated,” UC Davis Chancellor Gary May tweeted.
“By all accounts, he was an exceptional student, son and friend.”
May added, “I know many of you are frightened by what’s happened, especially so quickly after the stabbing incident that occurred on Thursday in Davis’ Central Park.”
On Thursday, David Breaux, a homeless man who was a staple in Davis for over a decade, was stabbed multiple times and killed in the city’s Central Park, according to police.
He was found on a park bench where he often slept, Pytel said.
Breaux dedicated his life to compassion and restorative justice, and was a beloved presence in Davis, friends said at a vigil this weekend.
The Davis community had worked together to build a bench, dubbed The Compassion Bench, for Breaux to have a place to sit and talk with Davis residents about what compassion meant to them, mourners said. Breaux kept notes and turned those conversations into a book, they said.
The chancellor said in his statement, “Like so many of you, I am grieving the death of David Henry Breaux, known as the ‘Compassion Guy.’ … David led a life with real purpose, to connecting humanity for the greater good, something we should all aspire to do.”
As the investigation continues, UC Davis said it’s expanded the hours available for safe rides from campus to off-campus locations.
The university said there are no changes to classes during the day, but “the Academic Senate is considering potential changes to instruction during evening hours.”