Man held on suspicion of killing woman and 5-year-old girl

A man was arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a 5-year-old girl and a 35-year-old woman and slashing the neck of another woman, Riverside County sheriff’s authorities said Sunday.

Deputies in Hemet received a call at 8:13 p.m. Saturday about a man with blood on him standing in a street. When they arrived, they found Johnny Lopez, 33. After a brief struggle, Lopez was taken into custody, authorities said.

Deputies checked a residence near where Lopez was standing and found a woman bleeding from cuts to her neck, authorities said.

An hour later, deputies said they responded to another call at a house less than two miles away. There they found the bodies of a girl and another woman. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputy Michael Vasquez said investigators discovered evidence linking the two crimes. “The Sheriff’s Department is treating them as one in the same,” he said.

Authorities declined to release the names of victims. The injured woman was stable condition at a local hospital.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Riverside Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit at (951) 955-2777 or (951) 791-3400.

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