A man was arrested for allegedly stabbing a mother who was walking with her 2-year-old daughter outside the Westfield Topanga mall in Canoga Park.
The suspect was identified as Shayne Suffern, 29, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
On Aug. 21, the victim was walking with her toddler in a stroller in the parking lot around 12:30 p.m. That’s when the suspect suddenly approached the woman and told her to, “Give me back my baby.”
The man opened his backpack and pulled out an AR-15 rifle and attempted to fire at the woman, but the rifle malfunctioned.
The woman began running away with her child, but Suffern chased after her, police said. While removing her baby from the stroller, she was stabbed on the back of her right shoulder.
She ran into a nearby Cheesecake Factory restaurant where workers said she was found bleeding and screaming for help. The suspect had fled the scene in a vehicle after the stabbing.
Officers arrived shortly and found Suffern in a nearby parking lot where he was taken into custody.
“Their guns were already drawn as if they knew what had happened,” a witness who saw the arrest told KTLA’s Jillian Smuckler. “The guy walked straight over to the cop car as if he knew that they were coming for him.”
Authorities said the suspect and victim were not known to each other despite initial reports. Inside Suffern’s car, police found an assault rifle and a knife, along with magazines and ammunition.
“He was mumbling and acting in an erratic manner,” said LAPD Sergeant Ryan Fox. “She didn’t know who this individual was.”
Fox said he’s thankful the ordeal didn’t take a deadly turn.
“The fact that there was an assault rifle recovered at the mall during the daytime,” he said. “There was a threat to the public. There could’ve been other victims.”
The victim was transported to the hospital with a 3-inch stab wound. Her 2-year-old daughter was uninjured.
The motive behind the attack remains under investigation. According to court records, Suffern lives in an apartment complex less than two miles away from the Westfield Topanga mall.
He was arrested for attempted murder and is being held on $5.3 million bail. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Aug. 25.
Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call LAPD Detective Acevedo at 818-374-4820.
The public can also call the LAPD at 1-877-527-3247. Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
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