The Lake County Sheriff’s Department is continuing its search for a suspect who reportedly stabbed a teen girl in the hand in unincorporated Lowell on Saturday in what police are calling “a random attack.”
Investigators with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department have learned the victim, a 14-year-old girl, was watching her brother’s baseball game at the VFW baseball field in unincorporated Lowell with her mother, Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said in a release.
Sometime around 3:45 p.m. Saturday, an unknown male attacked the victim, attempting to stab her with a knife at the ball field at 17401 Morse Street. When the mother tried to help her daughter, the suspect also tried to stab the mom.
A male subject was chased into the woods near that location. He was last seen in a wooded area behind homes on the 6100 block of Oak Valley Drive in Lowell.
“At this point, it appears that this was a random attack,” Martinez said.
The victim was treated and released from an area hospital.
A butcher-style knife believed to have been used by the suspect has been recovered but the suspect is still considered armed and dangerous, police said. Residents in the immediate area should keep their homes and vehicles locked and notify police of any suspicious activity.
The suspect is described as a dark-skinned male in his 20s with long hair. He was wearing a burgundy top and black shorts.
Multiple units with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and law enforcement agencies from the surrounding area are searching for the suspect.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Unit is the lead investigative agency on the case.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the suspect is asked to call 911.