Students in the normally peaceful college town of Davis are living in fear, traveling in groups, and even arming themselves with rocks and knives, as the search for a man seen running from the third stabbing in a week continues.
“It’s eerie. At night the whole place is shut down,” UC Davis student Colin McCarthy told SFGATE. “As soon as it starts getting dark, no one is outside. I had a friend go home because they were so worried about what’s going on. Davis never sees stuff like this.”
“It’s really grim,” student Adam Ting said. (Ting is related to SFGATE politics editor Eric Ting.) “Everyone’s shocked. Everyone’s on edge, you can see it in their faces.”
Police are looking for a light-skinned man with curly hair who was last seen near a homeless encampment where an unidentified 64-year-old woman was stabbed through her tent Monday night, leaving her in critical but stable condition. That attack followed two stabbing deaths in three days.
The first killing happened the morning of April 27. David Henry Breaux, 50, a well-liked figure known as the “Compassion Guy,” was found dead on the bench in Central Park where he sat and often slept. On Saturday evening, UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm, 20, was found dead in Sycamore Park after suffering numerous stab wounds. A similar description of the assailant was given by witnesses in two of the attacks. Nobody witnessed the Central Park killing, and police have not stated that all three attacks are connected.
“People are walking around with knives,” Ting said. “A buddy of mine had to walk alone, he started picking up rocks just in case. I’ve seen people walking around with walking sticks.”
“At night I only travel with people now,” McCarthy said. “Just to protect ourselves. Everyone is doing that.”
A map shows the locations of three stabbings that have left two people dead and put Davis, Calif., on edge.
Screenshot via google/Illustration by SFGATEWhile all in-person classes have not been officially canceled — a decision that has drawn some criticism from students — both students who spoke with SFGATE said all their classes had moved to remote learning. Many students have left campus until the killer, or killers, are found. “One of my neighbors, the whole house went up to Tahoe for the week,” Ting said.
In a press conference Tuesday, authorities tried to reassure the community.
“I’ve been holding my own young children close,” Davis Mayor Will Arnold said. “We will walk together, we will bike together. We’ll look out for each other.”
The small city of about 68,000 residents is not a violent town. Davis saw zero homicides in 2016, one in 2017, two in 2018 and three in 2019, the most recent year for which the police department provides data. The Davis Enterprise reported there were no homicides in the past three years.
“I walked across campus last Tuesday night without a care in the world,” Ting said. “That’s how it always was. Small town, super safe. Two days later, someone gets stabbed to death right where I had walked.”
“It’s normally such an upbeat wholesome town,” McCarthy said. “I think it will return to that once this person is brought to justice.”
Police are looking for a light-skinned male with long curly hair, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-9 with a thin build, wearing a black or blue sweatshirt, black Adidas pants with white stripes, and black shoes. He carried a brown backpack. He was last seen running west on Third Street from L Street, police said.
Residents are asked to report any information or share any suspicious security camera footage by calling 530-747-5400 or emailing [email protected]. Anonymous tips can be called in at 530-747-5460.
