Inset: Manuel Arturo Alvarez (Murrieta Police Department). Background: A block of Old Spring Road in Murrieta, California (Google Maps).
In a harrowing incident in California, a man is facing serious charges after allegedly breaking into a couple’s home and launching a violent attack. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Manual Alvarez, has been charged with both homicide and attempted homicide, according to a statement from the Murrieta Police Department. The victims’ identities remain undisclosed to the public.
The attack unfolded just before 8:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, when an intruder entered a residence on Old Spring Road in Murrieta. The assailant targeted the homeowners, stabbing the 70-year-old man with a knife and assaulting his wife by striking her in the head with a screwdriver.
In a desperate call for help, the injured woman dialed 911, reporting her belief that her husband had succumbed to his injuries and that the attacker had fled through the back door. She provided a description of the intruder as a bearded man with a mustache, clad in a black shirt and pants, and notably barefoot.
Upon arrival, police officers administered medical aid to the woman and confirmed that her husband had indeed passed away. They swiftly organized a manhunt for the suspect, who was eventually located just before 9 a.m.
Authorities discovered a man matching the suspect’s description hiding in a ravine behind a house on Wild Flower Drive. Despite officers’ commands, the individual continued to conceal himself. However, with the assistance of a K-9 unit, police successfully apprehended Alvarez, bringing a tense morning to a close.
A man was in a ravine behind a nearby home on Wild Flower Drive, but he continued to hide even as officers gave him commands, the police department said. With the help of a K-9, the suspect — Alvarez — was taken into custody.
The woman victim was transported to a hospital and, as of Wednesday, was listed as in stable condition. Alvarez was treated at a hospital for injuries he suffered from the K-9, and then he was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center.
Neighbors were shocked by the violence that occurred in their neighborhood, which they described as quiet.
“This is random. This is just a house right down the street, in a new neighborhood that we moved in, like it can happen to anybody,” neighbor Jamel King told Los Angeles-based ABC affiliate KABC.
“I take my kids to school, its calm and then I get back and there’s a helicopter circling around, there’s just cops lined up all the way coming in and flying out,” another resident, Heather King, added.
Tyler Hamilton, another local resident, said: “It was scary thinking back that we were just feet away from some guy on the run with a knife. In this area nothing like this ever happens over here.”
According to the local outlet, as of Friday, Alvarez had not been medically cleared to appear in court. Detectives believe he entered the home through an unlocked door and that it was a random attack.
