Suspect arrested after 3 killed and 3 hurt in violent South Bay crime spree

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose and Milpitas police departments are investigating a whirlwind of violence that ended up killing three people – 1 by stabbing and two by car – and injuring another three in a crime spree that spanned two cities and four different locations. 

A suspect was arrested and police believe that person was responsible for three stabbings and two carjackings where two pedestrians were killed when he rammed into them in a stolen car, police said. 

The suspect, who has not yet been named, was taken into custody near the Smart and Final shopping center in Milpitas; he had been hiding in a neighborhood nearby. Police said he had blood on his clothes. 

"I am sickened by the senseless violence that took place in our city tonight," San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement. "There are no words that can convey how sorry I am to the victims’ loved ones whose lives have been forever altered. San Jose mourns with you."

SJPD said the first stabbing and carjacking happened at Kooser Road and Dellwood Way around 3:10 p.m. The suspect then drove to a parking lot of a shopping center in the 1800 block of Hillsdale Avenue where he stabbed and carjacked a second person, police said. Neither of these incidents were fatal. 

While he was leaving the second scene, the suspect then struck a pedestrian while speeding out of the parking lot, police said. The victim struck was hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Police said the suspect drove away from the scene in a stolen car and was later spotted at the intersection of Santa Clara and 16th Streets. Here, he allegedly drove the car into two pedestrians, killing them both.

The spree came to an end around 4:30 p.m. when Milpitas police responded to a fatal stabbing near the Smart and Final store's parking lot near 400 Jacklin Road. This was the suspect's third stabbing victim. And in this case, the person died of their injuries. 

There, police arrested a man in the area who they say had blood on his clothes. 

One resident who was shopping near the arrest said she was taken aback at the violence. 

"It seems like any corner you turn now there can be something going on," said Andrea, who was shopping in San Jose. "Sometimes it’s the most beautiful neighborhood, and sometimes I find out something happened just one street away. It’s very shocking." 

KTVU reporter LaMonica Peters contributed to this report.