Residents “Frightened” by Stabbing in Neighborhood Park

Residents were on high alert in a La Verne neighborhood Thursday after a young woman was viciously attacked in a park the night before.

"She just said she was walking her dog and this guy came up to her and began stabbing her," said Captain Nick Paz, from the La Verne Police Department.

Police were stepping up patrols near the Las Flores Park where the 21-year-old was attacked and urged people who frequent the area to be aware of their surroundings.

"Just by his actions we're thinking maybe some kind of mental issue ... you just don't go up to people and begin stabbing them for no reason," Paz said.

The victim said she didn't know her assailant but described him as in his 20s, wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and bluejeans. He fled on foot after the attack, she was airlifted to USC Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

The assault hasn't sat well with residents who frequented the park with their children.

"That's serious, I've never heard of anything like that," Lloyd Zadanoff said.

The park also happens to be where the city's aquatic center is. Swim coach Cory Ornstein said parents were "really, really frightened about what happened."