Stepfather arrested after 11-year-old girl fatally stabbed in Garden Grove, police say
A 73-year-old man is in custody after his 11-year-old stepdaughter was fatally stabbed and the girl’s mother was shot and stabbed in Garden Grove early Wednesday, police said.
Police responded to a home in the 8900 block of Blossom Avenue after they received a report of domestic violence about 6:30 a.m. Police initially tweeted the incident occurred in the 9800 block of Blossom but later corrected the address.
When officers arrived, they found a 36-year-old woman in front of the house with multiple stab wounds as well as a gunshot wound, Garden Grove Police Lt. Carl Whitney told reporters at the scene.
Law enforcement personnel tended to the woman while other officers found her husband — identified by police as Tanh Thien Tran — in the home’s rear patio area.
“He was armed with a knife at the time and was threatening to hurt himself,” Whitney said. “He was also suffering from some self-inflicted stab wounds.”
Officers used a nonlethal beanbag round in a rifle to subdue Tran, Whitney said. He was arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment.
Officers found the 11-year-old girl, who had been stabbed multiple times, inside the house. She was taken to a hospital, where she died, Whitney said.
The girl’s mother was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition, police said.
Two boys, one 6 and the other 3, were at the home and were not hurt. The 3-year-old is Tran’s son, and the 6-year-old is his stepson. They were taken to child services, where authorities will interview them, Whitney said.
Detectives are continuing to investigate the attack in an effort to determine what led to the fatal altercation. A video posted by police on social media shows various items, including a pair of scissors, strewn across the home’s frontyard. The footage also shows authorities inspecting a gun.
“We’re talking to neighbors to find out some back history to find out what happened out there,” Whitney said.
Anyone with information is being asked to call Garden Grove Police Department detectives at (714) 741-5704.
Twitter: @Hannahnfry
UPDATES:
2:10 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the man’s arrest, and injuries to the victims.
This article was originally published at 12:40 p.m.
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