Two hours of terror in Orange County as suspect kills 4 in series of knife attacks

The stabbing attack in Orange County that left four people dead and two hurt evolved over two hours at several locations in Garden Grove and Santa Ana.

Police said they were stunned by the cycle of events, which began at an apartment building in Garden Grove and then spread to businesses. Authorities are still searching for a motive and said the attacks seem to be random.

“This is one of those things you see one time in a career ... I’ve been a police officer for 30 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen a suspect kill four people and stab others,” Garden Grove Police Lt. Carl Whitney said. “It’s pure evil.”

Here is a timeline of how the attacks unfolded:

4:09 p.m. Burglary reported at an apartment in the 12600 block of Jentges Avenue in Garden Grove.

4:23 p.m. Robbery reported at a bakery in the 13000 block of Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove. The suspect, armed with a gun, took cash.

5:04 p.m. Stabbing reported at the apartment complex on Jentges Avenue where burglary was reported earlier. Two adult males, one 62, died from multiple stab wounds. The age of the other victims was unavailable.

5:39 p.m. Armed robbery reported at Cash & More check-cashing business in the 12800 block of Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove. The suspect took cash.

6:06 p.m. Armed robbery and stabbing reported at Best One Insurance agency in the 12800 block of Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove. A 54-year-old female employee was stabbed numerous times and was in critical but stable condition. The suspect took cash.

6:09 p.m. Stabbing reported at a Chevron gas station in the 13300 block of Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove. A 44-year-old male was stabbed and his nose was nearly cut off. He is in stable condition.

6:16 p.m. A male was stabbed and killed in a Subway restaurant in the 3800 block of West First Street in Santa Ana.

6:25 p.m. A male security guard was fatally stabbed at a 7-Eleven store in the 100 block of South Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana. The suspect, who took the victim’s handgun after stabbing him numerous times, was taken into custody by police.

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Garden Grove Police Cpl. Charles Starnes displays photos of suspect Zachary Castaneda  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Coroners remove the body of a stabbing victim from the Casa De Portola apartment complex in Garden Grove.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times )

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Police investigators work at the Casa De Portola apartment complex in Garden Grove where the first two victims in a stabbing rampage were attacked Wednesday.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Police investigators work at the Casa De Portola apartment complex in Garden Grove, where two people were fatally stabbed.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Garden Grove Police Det. Steven Heine at the Casa De Portola apartment complex.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Twin sisters, reportedly the daughters of a woman who was stabbed at a business in Garden Grove on Wednesday, leave the Casa De Portola apartment complex.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Balloons tied to a light post at the Garden Grove apartment complex where two people were fatally stabbed.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Police were still at work Wednesday night, hours after the stabbing rampage ended outside a 7-Eleven store in Santa Ana.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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The scene at a gas station in Garden Grove, where a customer was stabbed in the back and his nose nearly severed, police say.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A photo of the stabbing suspect, identified Zachary Castaneda, at Garden Grove police headquarters.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)