LA hospital stabbing: Ex-con faces 3 counts of attempted murder
LOS ANGELES - An ex-con accused of stabbing a doctor and two nurses at a Los Angeles area hospital has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, officials said.
The suspect, identified by authorities as 35-year-old Ashkan Asmirsoleymani, appeared before a judge Tuesday morning but his arraignment was postponed to June 22.
RELATED: LA Hospital Stabbing: 3 Encino medical workers seriously hurt, suspect in custody
On June 3, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call just after 3:45 p.m. at the Encino Hospital Medical Center on Ventura Boulevard. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the three victims were taken to a local trauma center in critical condition.
After he allegedly stabbed the three medical workers, Asmirsoleymani then barricaded himself inside a hospital room for more than four hours, prompting a lockdown at the hospital.
Asmirsoleymani is being held on $3 million bail.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE VICTIMS
The hospital identified the three victims as an emergency department physician and two staff nurses. Below is a statement issued, in part, by the hospital:
"Three injured at Encino Hospital were two staff nurses and an ED physician who were all taken to the nearest trauma center. The hospital is currently on lockdown. We are continuing to monitor the situation and our thoughts and prayers are with all involved."
Dignity Health Northridge Hospital Medical Center, the facility where the three victims are being treated, said in a statement that they are all in stable condition.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SUSPECT
LAPD officials said Amirsoleymani had a criminal history prior to Friday's incident. Some of his record includes resisting arrest and battery on an officer. Police added during the press conference that the suspect has a "lengthy" history with officers across Los Angeles and in the San Fernando Valley.
The hospital has security in the building, but LAPD said it is unsure if the personnel there were armed at the time of the stabbing incident.
The attack occurred days after a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital was under attack by a gunman. The attack at the St. Francis Health System – Natalie Building ended with four people dead, including the suspect's surgeon.
Prior to the Tulsa hospital shooting, the U.S. saw other mass shootings, including an attack that killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.