2 Apartments Set Ablaze After Attacks

Two women were brutally attacked in separate apartments at an Anaheim building early Saturday morning, with the assailant then setting the dwellings on fire, authorities said.

Firefighters discovered the women about 1 a.m. when responding to a 911 call that reported a fire in one of the apartments of the fourplex in the 100 block of North East Street, said Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez.

“Police are considering this an attempted homicide investigation,” Martinez said.

When firefighters arrived, they entered the apartment and found the first woman suffering from “traumatic injuries.”

While battling the blaze in the apartment, firefighters noticed that another apartment unit two doors away in the same building also was on fire, Martinez said.

Firefighters then entered the apartment and found the second victim suffering from wounds that she had received in a brutal attack, Martinez said.

Police would not divulge details about the injuries.

The two women were treated at the scene then transported to UCI Medical Center, where they were in critical condition Saturday night and breathing with the help of ventilators, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Bloodhounds from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department were brought to the scene to help with the investigation, Martinez said.

As investigators gathered evidence, residents of the neighborhood watched from behind the yellow tape. The neighbors said they did not know the victims, but many of the women expressed concern because the attacker is still on the loose.

Sitting on the front steps of the building next door, Maria Gonzalez said she is taking extra precautions.

“I lock the windows. I lock the door. If I see anybody different here, I will call the police,” Gonzalez said, pulling her 7-year-old daughter Luzana close to her.

Fidelina Perez said that she doesn’t want to believe such an atrocious crime could happen in her neighborhood.

“I’m going to pray a lot to Jesus,” Perez said. “I pray for me, and I pray [for the assailant] to be put in the hands of the police.”