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Half-naked man steals ambulance while medics were responding to fatal stabbing

Downey Police Department officers pursued the ambulance and took the suspect into custody

By Alex Wigglesworth
Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — A man was stabbed to death near a Los Angeles County library on Saturday, and another man stole an ambulance that responded to the scene, police said.

Officers responded to a report of a stabbing victim in front of the Downey Library shortly after 9:30 a.m. , the Downey Police Department said in a news release. The man died at the scene, according to investigators. His identity was not released pending notification of his family members, police said.

Witnesses reported the assailant ran toward Downey High School , prompting a lockdown of both the library and high school, police said. Officers arrested a 23-year-old suspect on the high school campus. His identity was not released.

In an incident investigators believe to be unrelated to the stabbing itself, a man stole a Downey Fire Department ambulance that was parked at the scene as emergency personnel tended to the victim, police said.

Downey police chased the ambulance, which crashed into a parked vehicle, and took the driver into custody, according to investigators. He was identified only as a 52-year-old Los Angeles resident.

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The San Francisco Police Department stated that two riders were detained; a rifle, marijuana and mace spray were found inside the vehicle
The suspect reportedly attacked the women after stabbing himself repeatedly; a Sacramento County Deputy fired shots after witnessing the suspect stabbing one of the victims
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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