LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 8 (UPI) — A man suspected of stabbing six people was shot and killed by pursuing police on Friday night in Long Beach, California.
Investigators don’t yet know what motivated 28-year-old Derrick Lee Hunt to allegedly stab six people, but they know the spree began at an apartment complex and ended at a convalescent home across the street.
The first three victims were familiar — the suspect’s wife, brother-in-law and a neighbor. The second three victims appear unrelated, three female employees of the sanitarium.
Five of the victims were taken to local hospitals; all are expected to recover.
The initial stabbings occurred at 8:17 p.m. local time. Not long after the second instance of violence, Lee was encountered by police on the street. The details of what led to the police shooting aren’t yet clear, but the suspect was brought down by police fire. Lee was pronounced dead at the scene and a lengthy kitchen knife was recovered.
The suspect’s family said Hunt did not have a history of violence, but had been recently released from prison. His sister, Shawntris Leake, was critical of the nature of her brother’s death.
“I understand the police have to do their job because I work in mental health, but it don’t take five bullets to get one person down,” she told local new station KABC. “They could have used a rubber – anything – or tase him. It didn’t take five bullets to take him down.”
An investigation into the stabbings and subsequent shooting is ongoing.
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