COVINA – 19-year-old Louis Vasquez had just been released from jail on Saturday morning, serving time for a felony offense. Before the night was over, he was back in jail for a crime that was apparently as random as it was vicious.
At 7:30 on Saturday night an 18-year-old worker at was bringing in shopping carts at Smart and Final when a Latino man, unknown to the victim and later identified as Vasquez, stabbed him in the right shoulder and called him a racial slur.
Surveillance photo of Vasquez assaulting one of his victims
Vasquez then proceeded next door to CVS and chased down a 24-year-old customer, stabbing him twice in the right shoulder as well, and then slashed him several more times before the victim kicked the knife away and staggered back to the store. The second incident was captured on the store’s surveillance camera.
Vasquez fled into a nearby neighborhood and was soon apprehended and arrested in the 800 block of W. Edna Place.
Both attacks appear to be racially motivated based on the criminal’s behavior and alleged statements during the attacks. The charges against Vasquez include attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
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