The man taken into custody early on Monday in downtown San Diego after allegedly attacking six people in 15 minutes was in court Wednesday and now faces a host of criminal charges, including attempted murder.
The attacks occurred around 5 a.m. in a relatively small area in the vicinity of State Street near Broadway and C Street, according to San Diego police Lt. Brian Avera.
Police identified the suspect as Christopher Torres, who stabbed one person 14 times and another person four times, according to Avera. Both victims were hospitalized, underwent surgery and are expected to survive.
The victim who was stabbed four times is a security guard employed by Allied Security, according to Sonia Miro, the director of property management for Kearny Real Estate Company, which manages the property near where the victim was stabbed. The other victims were not seriously injured.
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In San Diego Superior Court on Wednesday, Torres was charged with three counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of robbery, two counts of attempted robbery, one count of making a criminal threat, and one count of battery. All the charges are felonies, with the exception of the single count of battery.
Torres entered a not-guilty plea to all charges, according to the office of the San Diego County District Attorney.
San Diego News
A woman told NBC 7 on Monday that as she was heading east on C Street, she saw a man she believed to be homeless acting erratically as she was heading east on C Street, away from the 7-Eleven. The man approached a painter working in the area and said something to him, then pulled a knife on the painter, the woman said. The worker was not physically harmed, however, the woman added. She said the homeless man also stole someone’s backpack but was not sure if that person was stabbed.
"Unfortunately, many of these cases intersect with persons experiencing homelessness as perpetrators or victims of these violent attacks," Stephens said in news release issued Wednesday. We will not tolerate this conduct and we will enforce the rule of law against anyone who harms our community.”
Torres faces 21 years to life in prison plus an additional 26 years if convicted of all charges. He is due back in court on Feb. 7 for a preliminary hearing.
