A man was taken into custody Friday afternoon after a 10-year-old girl and her elderly grandfather were stabbed during an early-morning attack in the San Fernando Valley, authorities confirmed.

 

According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officers responded just before 8 a.m. to the 10300 block of Eldora Avenue, where they found two victims suffering from stab wounds. Both were transported to a hospital, and their conditions were initially unknown.

 

Aerial footage showed officers canvassing the neighborhood, collecting evidence and interviewing residents as investigators worked to determine what led up to the attack.

 

The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that two patients were treated at the scene an elderly man and a juvenile female who were later confirmed to be related. Preliminary accounts from neighbors indicated the girl was released from the hospital around noon, while her grandfather remained hospitalized with stab wounds to the neck that may have struck an artery. Police said he was last reported to be in stable condition.

 

Residents told authorities the suspected attacker may live in the neighborhood and is known to locals. According to those accounts, the man believed to be in his 30s lives with his parents and has caused fear among neighbors for years.

 

Witnesses said that around 8 a.m., a family was preparing to take children to school when the suspect confronted them, attempted to carjack their vehicle, and then stabbed the grandfather and granddaughter.

 

The LAPD said the suspect has at times been described as transient, though investigators were told he occasionally returns home, lives out of his vehicle and may suffer from mental health issues. Police also confirmed they are reviewing 911 dispatch records after neighbors claimed a similar stabbing may have occurred in the area months earlier.

 

After the attack, the suspect fled in a dark-colored vehicle, which was later found abandoned several miles away. Officers focused part of their search near a nearby park, where the suspect was believed to have headed.

 

Authorities later confirmed the suspect was taken into custody at 2:15 p.m. near the intersection of Oro Vista and Grove streets. He is currently being held at the LAPD’s Foothill Division.