Man who attacked three O.C. women in five hours sought by police

Garden Grove police are searching for a man suspected of assaulting three women in a span of about five hours Thursday evening.

The suspect is in his early 20s, has tattoos on both arms and possibly a pierced lower lip. He was wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, the Garden Grove Police Department said in a statement.

The first reported attack occurred about 5:28 p.m. in the 11300 block of Euclid Street, where a woman said she was struck several times and dragged by an intruder. She said the man fled.

Another woman reported that she came home at 7:17 p.m. and found a burglar in her home in the 11300 block of Clarissa Street, about three miles away from the first attack.

The woman told police the man was armed with a knife and stabbed her three times before fleeing. She was treated for her injuries.

The Police Department sent out automatic phone messages to residents after the second attack, advising them of the ongoing search.

At 10:03 p.m., a woman in the 11300 block of Lampson Avenue told police that a man came into her home and hit her several times before she was able to escape.

She lives about four miles from the previous assault.

Orange County Sheriff’s Department bloodhounds were brought to the three residences in an effort to identify the suspect, but the effort was unsuccessful.

Garden Grove police said the attacker is considered armed and dangerous. They expect to release a composite sketch later Friday.

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adolfo.flores@latimes.com

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