CAPITOLA — Multiple people were hospitalized in serious condition after a stabbing incident in Capitola on Sunday led to a confrontation with local authorities and a high-speed chase down neighboring thoroughfares.
According to a social media post from the Capitola Police Department, officers were called at approximately 5:53 p.m. Sunday to the 1700 block of 41st Avenue after receiving a report of a stabbing. Capitola Police Chief Sarah Ryan told the Sentinel the incident is believed to have occurred outside of the McDonald’s on 41st Avenue near Capitola Road.
According to the post, police units arrived at the scene and discovered a man in his late 30s who had suffered multiple stab wounds. The man was transported by an air ambulance to a regional trauma center and while his condition was unknown Monday, Ryan told the Sentinel he was in critical condition as of Sunday night.
With help from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, Capitola police located the alleged perpetrator of the stabbing in the area still armed with a knife. Ryan said the officers engaged in a standoff with the man, said to be in his late 20s, and drew their guns along with other less lethal weaponry. The man refused to drop the knife, according to Ryan, and eventually an officer deployed a Taser that failed to subdue him.
The man then jumped into his vehicle and was pursued down 41st Avenue by Capitola units before navigating to northbound Highway 1, Ryan said. The high-speed pursuit, eventually taken over by the California Highway Patrol, continued along Highway 17 but because of the man’s reckless driving, the CHP units backed off near Idylwild Road, according to the social media post. Shortly after that, the units discovered that the man had crashed into another vehicle south of Bear Creek Road in Santa Clara County.
The man was injured in the crash, along with an unknown number of people in the other vehicle, according to Ryan, and all were transported to a trauma center and were followed by Capitola police officers. Their conditions were all unknown Monday.
“We have people everywhere, watching everybody just to keep eyes out,” said Ryan.
Though the investigation is still in its early phases and many desired interviews have not yet commenced due to the health condition of several people involved, Ryan said initial findings were that the victim of the stabbing and the man that fled from police were unknown to one another. The incident also appeared unprovoked, Ryan said.
Asked for comment Monday, a spokesperson for the CHP referred the Sentinel back to the release from Capitola police.
According to the social media post, there is no indication of an ongoing threat to public safety. Anyone with information related to the case is encouraged to contact investigators with the Capitola Police Department at 831-475-4242.