LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles police are trying to find a bicyclist who rides close to people and slashes their faces. He is believed to have struck four times since last month.
Three men and three women were all attacked in separate incidents between March 20 and April 3.
The latest incident happened on Monday, April 3, around 8:40 a.m. in South Los Angeles, Florence neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
A man standing near a bus stop was attacked and a woman was slashed about a mile away.
The two attacks were reported just around 15 minutes apart, authorities reported.
The victims have been transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. The injuries were characterized as severe but all the victims are expected to survive.
In a surveillance video and images released by the LAPD, the suspect is seen on his bicycle.
“The suspect is described as a Male Hispanic, 18-30 years old with short hair, about 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches and weighing about 150 pounds.”
“The suspect was wearing a dark colored T-shirt and dark pants. The suspect was last seen riding a black and green mountain bike, westbound Slauson Avenue from Main Street,” according to a police statement.
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Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Corral or Detective Garcia, Newton Area Detectives, at (323) 318-3610 or (323) 846-6562.
Previous Attacks Last Month
The previous attacks happened in the same area of South L.A., on March 20, and a few miles away in the neighboring city of South Gate on March 27, authorities reported.
Police say the assailant has used an unknown type of “edged weapon” and was last seen on a black and green mountain bike.
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Security Cameras Installation Los Angeles reported that: “The first attack occurred around 7:30 a.m. on March 20, when the suspect slashed a man’s face as he rode past him on a bike, severely injuring the victim.”
“A week later, on March 27, three different attacks were reported to police back-to-back. Two women and a man all had their faces slashed by a man riding a bicycle in parts of South Gate and Lynwood.”
Crime Statistics
Crime declined in the first half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2017, the FBI said in February.
Preliminary statistics show nearly all offenses in the violent crime category declined.
Robbery offenses decreased 12.5 percent, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses decreased 6.7 percent, and aggravated assault offenses declined 2 percent, the agency said. Rape, however, increased 0.6 percent.
When comparing data from the first six months of 2018 with the first six months of 2017, all property crime categories showed a decrease. Burglaries were down 12.7 percent, larceny-thefts decreased 6.3 percent, and motor vehicle thefts declined 3.3 percent.
The full 2018 crime report will be released later this year.
Overall violent crime decreased 0.2 percent from 2016 to 2017, while property crime decreased 3 percent during that time, the agency said in September 2018, releasing data from the previous year.
“There were more than 1.2 million violent crimes reported to UCR nationwide in 2017. There was a 0.7 percent decrease in murders and a 4 percent decrease in robberies from 2016 to 2017. Aggravated assaults increased by 1 percent in 2017. The FBI began collecting data solely on an updated rape definition last year, and 135,755 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2017,” the FBI stated.
“The report also showed there were more than 7.7 million property crimes last year. Burglaries decreased 7.6 percent and larceny-thefts decreased by 2.2 percent. Motor vehicle thefts increased by 0.8 percent from 2016 to 2017.”
The figures were compiled from more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies around the United States that submitted their crime data to the FBI.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
