2 dead, 2 hurt in ‘chaotic’ stabbing rampage inside Carmichael center; suspect held
Two people were killed, two others were hospitalized and a man is in custody in a stabbing rampage Friday afternoon at a Carmichael community center that works with people in recovery and with psychiatric health conditions.
UPDATE: Sacramento Sheriff’s Office identifies suspect in fatal wellness center stabbings
Shortly before 4:30 p.m. Friday, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced that deputies had a suspect in custody. About a half-hour later, officials announced that two victims — a female and a male — were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names had not been released Friday evening.
Two others had been taken to area hospitals; the status of their injuries was unknown. They both suffered stab wounds, according to authorities.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Tess Deterding confirmed that the stabbing was reported about 4 p.m. at the Wellness and Recovery Center in the 3600 block of Mission Avenue, just south of Engle Road in Carmichael. She said there was no further information available about the suspect.
Deputy Lacey Nelson, who spoke to news reporters at the scene, said it appeared that the suspect knew the victims and they knew him, but it was unclear what the suspect’s connection was to the center. Nelson also said the suspect was known to the officials at the center.
It appeared that the stabbing occurred inside the center where there were about 20 to 30 people, Nelson said. When deputies arrived, they found people running out of the center.
“It does sound like it was pretty chaotic. People were running out asking for help, pointing to where they thought victims were located or the suspect was,” Nelson told reporters. “Fortunately, the suspect was detained without (further) incident.”
Deputies were still at the stabbing scene investigating and are urging motorists to avoid the area Friday night a few blocks north of Whitney Avenue. One weapon had been recovered, Nelson said.
The recovery center’s website indicates it provides peer support groups for Sacramento County residents and offers clinical services, including psychiatry and rehabilitation, for people who qualify. The center’s services “are based on increasing resiliency, improving problem-solving, creating or maintaining positive and healthy relationships and creating opportunities to build the relationships.”
The center’s groups and free activities include meditation coping with anxiety, depression support, art expression and “hearing voices,” according to the website.
Natalie Bell, a homeless woman who goes to the center, said the center is mainly a safe place for homeless people to go to. She said the center serves people suffering with mental illness, but others can go to the center to wash their clothes or use a computer.
Bell told The Sacramento Bee that she goes to the center to take a shower, send out resumes for jobs or charge her cell phone. She doesn’t know who was involved in Friday’s stabbing and hadn’t spoken to anyone from the center as she stood several feet from crime scene tape.
“I’m not surprised at all,” Bell said after learning of the stabbing. “Like I said, there’s no real rules here. And the rules that they have are not set in stone, and there are never any repercussions for people who don’t abide by them.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 4:58 PM.
