3 dead, 9 injured after man stabs, punches victims in ‘crime spree’ in California, police say

Three people were killed and nine others injured when a man randomly stabbed and struck victims with a vehicle in the San Jose area, officials said.

Kevin Parkourana, 31, of San Jose was in police custody in connection with Thursday’s attacks, police in San Jose and nearby Milpitas said Friday.

“We’ve stopped the crime spree,” Milpitas Police Chief Jared Hernandez said at a Friday news conference. “We were able to effectively prevent other people from being injured.”

Parkourana was arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and carjacking in connection with the violence in the two cities, San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata said at the press conference.

The attacks were “random acts of violence, there was no targeting of individuals”, Mata said.

Charges have not been formally filed and the area’s public defender has not commented.

The frenzy began shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday in San Jose when the suspect stabbed a victim and hijacked a Honda Odyssey van from his home, local deputy chief Steve Lagorio said.

This victim was stabilized in a hospital, he said.

About 20 minutes later, the suspect abandoned the van and drove into another vehicle, a Honda Pilot SUV, stabbing a motorist in a parking lot in San Jose, Lagorio said. The suspect, driving, then hit a pedestrian, he said.

Both victims were hospitalized and stabilized by medical personnel, Lagorio said.

Around 4 p.m., the suspect allegedly used the driver to hit a vehicle in downtown San Jose, he said. The man then stabbed the motorist inside, Lagorio said.

The victim suffered injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, he said.

Minutes later, the suspect, still driving the SUV, “intentionally hit” three people near a San Jose intersection, Lagorio said. Two of the three died at the scene, he said.

Shortly after, the suspect struck a person on a motorized scooter in San Jose, he said.

The motorcyclist and the third pedestrian struck suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

At around 4:32 p.m., a stabbing occurred in the parking lot of a Smart & Final store in adjacent Milpitas, and the SUV was found abandoned nearby, police said.

The victim was pronounced dead at a hospital, Milpitas chief Hernandez said at the news conference.

City officers turned their attention to the ongoing Milpitas High School graduation ceremony nearby and flooded the area with law enforcement as a precaution, Hernandez said.

Tracking dogs alerted to the possibility of the suspect being in the area, and at 6:15 p.m. Parkourana exited a car parked less than a quarter mile from the Smart & Final and drove off without incident, Hernandez said.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner has not released the names of the deceased victims.

The motive is under investigation.

Mata, the San Jose chief, said Parkourana is on probation.

Santa Clara County court records show a history of felony convictions and dismissals since 2018 for the suspect. One of the convicted felony cases is described in a court docket as involving domestic violence.

In several cases, the suspect was ordered to appear in mental health treatment court, according to the filing. An active case involves a petition to revoke his post-release community supervision, a program that moves inmates from state custody to local supervision.

A spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the institution would not comment while the San Jose and Milpitas cases were still under investigation.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said at Friday’s press conference that the enforcement and justice system needs to be strengthened.

“When we’re dealing with repeat offenders with multiple convictions, our city, county and state need to do a better job of holding people accountable to get the care they need or get them off our streets,” he said. he declared.