Stabbing suspect arrested after standoff with police

A man with a history of mental illness identified as a suspect in the brazen fatal stabbing of a high school student last week was arrested Wednesday morning after barricading himself inside an Alhambra home, authorities said.

The man, whose name has not been released by police, is the suspect in the killing of Xavier Chavarin, 17, who was described by family as a straight-A student at Woodrow Wilson High School and a loving son. Hours after the teen was killed, police say the same assailant stabbed another person, who survived his injuries.

Los Angeles Police Department detectives went to the Alhambra home Wednesday morning after receiving a tip that the man who lived there was the same person seen in video of the knife-wielding attacker in El Sereno.

Cmdr. German Hurtado said the barricade situation unfolded after detectives arrived. LAPD gang and narcotics division officers surrounded the home in the 2300 block of Westmont Drive around 7 a.m. A Special Weapons Team brought in two armored vehicles and blocked the area surrounding the house.

Hurtado said a crisis negotiator was able to persuade the man, who was in the home alone, that he would be safe and to walk out. The crisis negotiator and a mental health evaluation team, along with the man’s mother, talked to him on his cellphone for a couple of hours before he surrendered, Hurtado said.

He was taken into custody without incident, the commander said.

“I don’t want to taint the investigation, [but] he is not going to be able to hurt anyone else,” Hurtado said.

Hurtado said that the man has a history of mental health problems and that Alhambra police said the man “has been a problem in this neighborhood.”

City Councilman Kevin de León, whose district includes the site of the fatal El Sereno attack, said the streets of L.A. “are the largest psychiatric ward in the United States.”

“Unfortunately, it has become quite normalized in Los Angeles for someone to walk up to someone and snap and walks away freely, or just hits someone,” said De León, who went to the Alhambra home Wednesday. “There’s no question about it; he’s suffered from severe mental illness,” he said of the suspect.

Authorities have yet to comment on the man’s apparent mental health problems or how they may have related to the attacks.

Friday afternoon’s killing shocked the city in its brutality, with surveillance footage showing a black-clad assailant approaching the victim around 3:55 p.m. in a parking lot on Valley Boulevard in El Sereno while brandishing a long blade.

The footage released Tuesday by police ends with the assailant putting both hands on the knife, pulling it back and then swinging it at something just outside the video’s frame.

The man in the video had long, wavy black hair and a long beard and can be seen in the video wearing a black jacket, T-shirt and pants. His vehicle was described as a black 1996 to 2001 Honda CR-V, according to LAPD investigators.

Laura Frias, Xavier’s mother, told KNBC-TV that her son had been waiting for her outside a restaurant when he was stabbed, the station reported.

The same attacker is believed to have stabbed a 33-year-old man on the 5400 block of Valley Boulevard later that evening, police said.

A woman who works at Valley Food Liquor on the block where the second stabbing occurred remembered a strange customer who would buy a beer and cigars but would not speak.

“He was weird, not normal. I always tried to be kind and nice, but he never answered. He is not friendly,” said the woman, who gave only her last name, Choi.

Police went to the liquor store Friday and showed her an image of the suspect, whom she immediately recognized.

In the second attack, the assailant approached a man and stabbed him numerous times without saying a word, police said. The second victim survived.

Police would not disclose any details about the man who was taken into custody, but De León identified him as David Zapeda and said he has a connection to Woodrow Wilson High, the school that Xavier attended. De León said Zapeda attended the school a decade earlier.

The councilman said he has been in touch with Xavier’s mother. He hugged the family and spoke with them privately.

Frias was outside the police barricade Wednesday when authorities announced the man’s surrender. She broke down in tears and was consoled by her father, Jesus Frias.

When De León arrived on the Alhambra street, he tried to shake hands with Xavier’s father, Daniel Chavarin, but Chavarin rebuffed him, saying of the greeting, “That’s not real.”

Chavarin was upset because of a reported leak of an internal LAPD memo regarding the suspect that began to circulate online over the weekend.

“It gives this person a head start to flee, to go to another country and hide after killing someone,” Chavarin said.

Authorities have not commented on the memo.

Times staff writer Jessica Perez contributed to this report.

A man with a history of mental illness identified as a suspect in the brazen fatal stabbing of a high school student last week was arrested Wednesday morning after barricading himself inside an Alhambra home, authorities said.

The man, whose name has not been released by police, is the suspect in the killing of Xavier Chavarin, 17, who was described by family as a straight-A student at Woodrow Wilson High School and a loving son. Hours after the teen was killed, police say the same assailant stabbed another person, who survived his injuries.

Los Angeles Police Department detectives went to the Alhambra home Wednesday morning after receiving a tip that the man who lived there was the same person seen in video of the knife-wielding attacker in El Sereno.

Cmdr. German Hurtado said the barricade situation unfolded after detectives arrived. LAPD gang and narcotics division officers surrounded the home in the 2300 block of Westmont Drive around 7 a.m. A Special Weapons Team brought in two armored vehicles and blocked the area surrounding the house.

Hurtado said a crisis negotiator was able to persuade the man, who was in the home alone, that he would be safe and to walk out. The crisis negotiator and a mental health evaluation team, along with the man’s mother, talked to him on his cellphone for a couple of hours before he surrendered, Hurtado said.

He was taken into custody without incident, the commander said.

“I don’t want to taint the investigation, [but] he is not going to be able to hurt anyone else,” Hurtado said.

Hurtado said that the man has a history of mental health problems and that Alhambra police said the man “has been a problem in this neighborhood.”

City Councilman Kevin de León, whose district includes the site of the fatal El Sereno attack, said the streets of L.A. “are the largest psychiatric ward in the United States.”

“Unfortunately, it has become quite normalized in Los Angeles for someone to walk up to someone and snap and walks away freely, or just hits someone,” said De León, who went to the Alhambra home Wednesday. “There’s no question about it; he’s suffered from severe mental illness,” he said of the suspect.

Authorities have yet to comment on the man’s apparent mental health problems or how they may have related to the attacks.

Friday afternoon’s killing shocked the city in its brutality, with surveillance footage showing a black-clad assailant approaching the victim around 3:55 p.m. in a parking lot on Valley Boulevard in El Sereno while brandishing a long blade.

The footage released Tuesday by police ends with the assailant putting both hands on the knife, pulling it back and then swinging it at something just outside the video’s frame.

The man in the video had long, wavy black hair and a long beard and can be seen in the video wearing a black jacket, T-shirt and pants. His vehicle was described as a black 1996 to 2001 Honda CR-V, according to LAPD investigators.

Laura Frias, Xavier’s mother, told KNBC-TV that her son had been waiting for her outside a restaurant when he was stabbed, the station reported.

The same attacker is believed to have stabbed a 33-year-old man on the 5400 block of Valley Boulevard later that evening, police said.

A woman who works at Valley Food Liquor on the block where the second stabbing occurred remembered a strange customer who would buy a beer and cigars but would not speak.

“He was weird, not normal. I always tried to be kind and nice, but he never answered. He is not friendly,” said the woman, who gave only her last name, Choi.

Police went to the liquor store Friday and showed her an image of the suspect, whom she immediately recognized.

In the second attack, the assailant approached a man and stabbed him numerous times without saying a word, police said. The second victim survived.

Images were released of the suspect in two stabbings in Los Angeles on March 3.

(Los Angeles Police Department)

Police would not disclose any details about the man who was taken into custody, but De León identified him as David Zapeda and said he has a connection to Woodrow Wilson High, the school that Xavier attended. De León said Zapeda attended the school a decade earlier.

The councilman said he has been in touch with Xavier’s mother. He hugged the family and spoke with them privately.

Frias was outside the police barricade Wednesday when authorities announced the man’s surrender. She broke down in tears and was consoled by her father, Jesus Frias.

When De León arrived on the Alhambra street, he tried to shake hands with Xavier’s father, Daniel Chavarin, but Chavarin rebuffed him, saying of the greeting, “That’s not real.”

Chavarin was upset because of a reported leak of an internal LAPD memo regarding the suspect that began to circulate online over the weekend.

“It gives this person a head start to flee, to go to another country and hide after killing someone,” Chavarin said.

Authorities have not commented on the memo.

Times staff writer Jessica Perez contributed to this report.