San Diego County

Fender-Bender Prompts Argument, Stabbing Near El Cajon Restaurants

The stabbing happened near a Denny's and McDonald's in on Camino Canada Friday morning

A fender-bender involving two cars in unincorporated El Cajon Friday morning led to an argument in a restaurant parking lot that quickly escalated into a stabbing. 

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) Sgt. Kristin Brayman told NBC 7 that deputies were called to the parking lot of a McDonald’s and Denny’s at 13574 Camino Canada just after 6 a.m. to investigate a report of assault with a deadly weapon.

When investigators arrived, they discovered that a fight had stemmed from a minor crash involving a black pickup truck that had entered the McDonald's parking lot and collided with a parked white Saturn.

The collision caused minor scratches to the Saturn and led to an argument.

Brayman said the pickup truck was carrying three men, all in their 20s. The Saturn was carrying three people too, a female driver and two men.

After the crash, the driver of the truck got out and spoke with the woman in the Saturn. At this point, one of the passengers in the truck got out and got into an argument with one of the men inside the Saturn.

That's when things got heated.

“A knife ended up coming out,” Brayman said.

The passenger of the truck put a knife up to the stomach of the passenger of the Saturn, but did not stab him.

Brayman said the suspect holding the knife then chased the other passenger of the Saturn in the parking lot, stabbing him in the neck.

The stabbing victim was taken to Sharp Grossmont Hospital with non-life threatening wounds. No one else was hurt.

By the time deputies arrived, the men in the black pickup truck were gone. Brayman said that, at this point, there are no detailed descriptions of the suspects.

Deputies cordoned a large section of the parking lot in front of the eateries where they began collecting evidence.

Brayman said the businesses near the scene of the stabbing would likely operate as usual through the day. At 7:15 a.m., customers could be seen going through the McDonald's drive-thru, getting their food as usual.

The investigation is ongoing; the sergeant said detectives will be looking at surveillance videos to gather more information on the suspects, their pickup truck and the crime.

As of 11 a.m., the suspects were still at large. Anyone with information on this case can call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

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