PASADENA, Texas— According to the city’s public relations officer, detectives are investigating the stabbing of a guy many times at a Walmart in Pasadena.
They claim it appeared to be a random attack.
Around 10:30 a.m., a stabbing was reported in the Walmart parking lot on Fairmont Parkway, near Mickey Gilley Boulevard.
According to Pasadena officials, the victim, a male in his early 40s, was repeatedly stabbed in the chest. He was airlifted by Life Flight to a nearby hospital in critical condition. As of Wednesday night, he was still in ICU.
Witnesses told police that the suspect fled the scene following the stabbing. Investigators examined Walmart surveillance video to obtain a description of the man and his vehicle. License plate readers found the car.
“Using the Flock camera system in our city, officers patrolling the area discovered a vehicle matching the suspect vehicle description,” Pasadena police officer Darby Slack stated.
Following a brief chase, the driver stopped the vehicle, exited, and attempted to flee, but was apprehended and arrested. It is unknown whether a weapon was recovered.
Investigators then discovered that the suspect car was also involved in a hit-and-run. It is unclear if it occurred before or after the stabbing.
“Right now, he is just a person of interest while we work to identify him and verify he is related to this incident,” Slack told the reporter.
While the motive for the stabbing is unknown, investigators believe the victim and person of interest did not know each other prior to the event.
“We have no motive at this time; all we know is that the suspect arrived on scene, approached the male, and stabbed him in the upper torso.” “We have no reason to believe the incident was motivated by a previous relationship,” Slack stated.
Investigators were unsure whether the victim attempted to fight back.
Authorities stated it was an isolated incidence and that the public is not in danger.
“There’s no reason for the public to fear their safety at this time,” he said. “We have our single person of interest in custody, and we don’t believe there’s anybody outstanding.”
Ron Plamann went inside to get his wife’s prescription, and when he came out, his red pickup was covered with crime scene tape.
“Maybe if I had pulled up half an hour later, it would have been me,” Plamann joked. “That’s a weird one, it was right there by it, right there.”
Plamann’s truck remained stranded at the crime scene for several hours while police investigated.
The business remained open following the incident.
Some schools in the vicinity were temporarily closed, but eventually resumed normal activities.
