Encino Hospital stabbing incident: Suspect arrested as attack leaves three injured in medical centre

On June 3, Friday, medical workers were stabbed at Encino Hospital in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Police apprehended the suspect 4 hours after the attack and brought him into custody.

A tactical team was sent to the hospital, where they barricaded the suspect inside a closet, prompting a struggle, after which they managed to extract him.

According to CBS, the victims of the attack were two nurses and one doctor. All three were declared to be in critical condition, but some of them have since stabilized. At a news conference on Friday, police announced that one of the victims would need to undergo surgery.

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What happened at the Encino hospital?

According to the LA times, LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told the press that the suspect had entered Encino Hospital as a potential patient.

He said:

“Our understand is that he was attempting to seek treatment. As far as we know, he entered (the hospital) under his own power.”

According to USA Today, the suspect had parked his car in the middle of the road and entered the emergency room. There, he had requested treatment for anxiety before launching the attack around 3:50 P.M.

The suspect is believed to have attacked doctors and nurses with a knife that was 3 to 4 inches long. Benjamin Roman, an ultrasound technician at Encino Hospital, told KNBC-TV that he witnessed the stabbings of at least two of the victims.

He said:

“The doctor looked (like) she was in pain. There was a lot of blood and it looked like… he might have got her abdomen.”

After police were informed, a tactical team was dispatched to Encino Hospital. As they entered the premises, the suspect barricaded himself in a closet. During the encounter, LAPD chief Michael Moore updated news outlets on the status of the assailant.

He said:

“We’ve locked it down. We’ve isolated the individual.”

Another LAPD officer described the encounter between authorities and the assailant in the emergency room of Encino Hospital.

"So, our Special Weapons and Tactics Team deployed specialized equipment they have that limits the movements of a suspect. It allows them to approach in a more...in a safer manner and take the suspect into custody while having partial control of their body.”

After his apprehension, the lone attacker was identified as an adult male. Authorities informed media that they were familiar with the alleged perpetrator as he has a history of violence, including past attacks on officers.

The suspect was taken into custody around 8 pm. He was restrained and transported in an ambulance to Sherman Oaks, where he was treated for what police described as self-inflicted wounds.

As per USA Today, helicopter footage from local TV stations showed one of the employees being removed from Encino Hospital on a gurney. The victims were then transported to a local trauma centre.

At the press conference, Moore acknowledged that the Encino Hospital stabbings emerged off the heels of the Tulsa hospital shooting, as well as a spate of massacres and attacks perpetrated by various lone gunmen and attackers across America.

He said:

“Law enforcement, as the rest of the public, is mindful of this spasm that we’ve seen of these horrific tragedies, and the department is committed to ensuring that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of the public and prevent these horrible attacks”

The Deputy Chief informed the press that the suspect's name will be released after he is processed into the system. As of now, his motivations remain unknown.

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