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The
suspect, Zachary Castaneda, was taken into custody on Wednesday
evening outside of a 7-Eleven convenience store in Santa Ana,
California, moments after stabbing to death a security guard
there, police said.
Garden Grove Police Lieutenant Carl Whitney told reporters
Castaneda "savagely attacked these people for some reason" in an
unprovoked attack on victims ranging in age from 25 to 64 that
stunned central Orange County residents and authorities.
"I've worked here for 30 years and I've never seen anything like
this," Whitney said. "It is pure evil."
Two victims were being treated at hospitals and were expected to
survive, police said. Those include a male victim undergoing
surgery to have his nose reattached and a female victim who was
wounded close to her heart, Whitney said.
The crime spree began when Castaneda stabbed two roommates to
death on Wednesday afternoon outside the Garden Grove apartment
complex where he lived, police said.
The suspect, who was driving a silver Mercedes, later robbed a
bakery in Garden Grove and a check-cashing business while
threatening victims with a knife, police said.
In nearby Santa Ana, Castaneda is suspected of attacking and
fatally wounding a man in a Subway restaurant, police said,
before killing the 7-Eleven security guard, using a knife to cut
his belt and leaving the store armed with the man's gun.
As he left, police confronted the man and took him into custody,
where he continued to be "combative" with officers, Whitney
said.
Police said Castaneda had served prison time for possession of
methamphetamine with an intention to sell while armed with a
rifle and that they had previous contact with him in connection
with a child custody dispute.
(Additional reporting by Rich McKay; editing by Bill Tarrant and
Nate Raymond)
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