Police on Saturday arrested a man in connection with the assaults of five women within a six-hour period in Orange County earlier this week, according to the Anaheim Police Department.
Anaheim and Garden Grove police arrested a person of interest in the attacks about 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the 6100 block of Robin Way in Buena Park, according to the Garden Grove Police Department. His name was not released.
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On Thursday, police responded to the Alamo Motel at 1040 W. Katella Avenue just before 8 p.m. when a man assaulted two women as they entered their room, the Anaheim Police Department said in a news release. The women suffered non-life-threatening lacerations and were treated at a hospital. The man fled the scene.
During the investigation of those two assaults, Anaheim police learned the Garden Grove Police Department was investigating three similar incidents.
In the first Garden Grove incident, police responded to the 11300 block of Euclid Street about 5:28 p.m. to an assault, during which a woman was struck several times and dragged by a man before he fled the scene, Garden Grove police said.
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Less than two hours later, at 7:17 p.m. in the 11300 block of Clarissa Street, a woman reported coming home and finding a man inside, who was armed with a knife and stabbed her three times, police said.
At 10:03 p.m., a third woman reported an assault in the 11300 block of Lampson Avenue when she was also struck by the man before she was able to escape and call police, Garden Grove police said.
All of the assaults were within a two-mile area between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Thursday.
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"Nothing sexual happened in the assaults, but they were all women, and he did appear to be trying to get them into a more private area in several of the assaults," Garden Grove Police Lt. Ben Stauffer said. "However, when the women resisted, they were able to get away. It's unclear what his intent was, but that is a concern of ours."
Police are putting togething a photo lineup to show the five victims so they can help them determine whether the man in custody is the same man who attacked them, Stauffer said.
The man was described as Hispanic or white, 5 foot 9 inches tall to 6 foot 2 inches tall, with short hair or a shaved head, wearing a gray shirt with blue jeans. He may have stolen a cutting device, possibly a kitchen knife, from one of the assaults at a residence in Garden Grove, police said.
Details about the man's arrest were not immediately clear.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Anaheim Police Department at 714-765-1911 or the Garden Grove Police Department at 714-741-5070.
NBC4's Kate Larsen contributed to this report.
