A 34-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of several offenses, including attempted murder, following a June 17 attack at a retail chain in Simi Valley.
Officers with the Simi Valley Police Department responded to the Target store at 51 Tierra Rejada Road around 6 p.m. for a disturbance call, according to a police department news release.
The caller told police that a man entered the store and immediately began attacking a woman standing near the checkout, and appeared to be choking her, police officials said.
The store’s loss prevention officer and bystanders, including a youth, tried to help the woman, but the man began attacking them as well, police said.
Target employees began evacuating customers from the store as police arrived, officials said. Police found the man, a 34-year-old Simi Valley resident, throwing items from the grocery section and arrested him without incident.
Several customers, including the child, sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene, police said. The woman who was initially attacked was transported by family to a local hospital in stable condition.
Investigators later learned that the woman did not know the 34-year-old and believe the attack was random.
The man was booked into Ventura County jail on suspicion of several offenses, including felonies for attempted premeditated murder and commercial burglary, as well as misdemeanors for battery on a person assault, and cruelty to a child by inflicting injury, jail records show.
His bail is set at $750,000, and he is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on June 22, records show.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: 34-year-old man arrested after ‘random’ attack at Simi Valley Target
Reporting by Ernesto Centeno Araujo, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ernesto Centeno Araujo, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
