Orange County

3 US Marines Stabbed in Orange County

Three U.S. Marines were stabbed in an Orange County parking lot early Saturday morning, officials said.

The stabbing happened around 1 a.m. in the parking lot of a restaurant near Avenida Granada and Avenida Victoria in San Clemente, Orange County Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Jaimee Blashaw said.

The attack occurred after the Marines got into some sort of argument with two men and a woman in the parking lot, Blashaw said. During the argument, one of the men pulled out a knife and stabbed all three Marines.

"We heard lots of screaming and shouting so we came outside and the guy lifted up his shirt and was saying, 'You saw them stab me,' and he was gushing blood," Jasmine Custer said, describing one of the Marines involved in the attack. "There was blood everywhere and you could clearly see the gash in his side."

The identities of the Marines have not been revealed, though they are described as being two 21-year-olds and a 23-year-old.

The Marines are assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Marines at Camp Pendleton, a spokesperson for the 1st Marine Division told NBC 7.

The 1st Division is aware of the incident and is deferring to the OCSD for the investigation, the spokesperson said.

All three Marines suffered non-life threatening injuries, Blashaw said.

The three suspects initially ran away from the scene, but police tracked them down later.

Alexis Moreno-Aguirre, 24, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder in relation to the stabbing.

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