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Teen remembered as police search for stabbing suspect
Seventeen-year-old Xavier Chavarin was waiting for his family to pick him up from school when he was stabbed to death on a sidewalk.
LOS ANGELES - A 17-year-old high school student was stabbed and killed outside a torta restaurant in El Sereno while waiting for his family to pick him up after school.
The Los Angeles Police Department reported that officers were called to the 4500 block of Valley Boulevard around 3:55 p.m. on Friday, March 3. When they arrived at the scene, they found a 17-year-old, identified by family as Xavier Chavarin, suffering from stab wounds. Paramedics tried to save his life, but Chavarin was pronounced dead at the scene.
UPDATE: El Sereno murder suspect in custody following standoff in Alhambra
His family said he was a straight-A student at Wilson High School. The teen was standing outside King Torta restaurant in broad daylight waiting for his family to pick him up down the street from his school when suddenly, a man got out of his car and stabbed him in the back multiple times.
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Police searching for suspect accused of stabbing, killing teen in El Sereno
Police in El Sereno are searching for a man they say stabbed and killed 17-year-old Xavier Chavarin in El Sereno, and is suspected of stabbing a 33-year-old later that same night.
LAPD released surveillance footage Tuesday that shows Chavarin's attacker. In the video, the suspect is seen in a black jacket, black shirt, black pants, black shoes and black baseball cap. After getting out of his car, he walks across a parking lot up to Chavarin standing on the sidewalk before pulling out a large knife and stabbing him multiple times.
Detectives believe the attacker is a Hispanic man with long wavy black hair and a long beard. They also believe that he's the same suspect involved in a different attack on the same day just before 9 p.m. in the 5400 block of Valley Boulevard, less than two miles away. In that attack, the suspect approached a 33-year-old man and stabbed him multiple times without a word. In that attack, the suspect was not seen wearing a baseball cap like in the attack against Chavarin, but appeared to be wearing the same clothing otherwise. He was also seen riding a skateboard, whereas in the first attack, he was seen getting out of a black Honda CR-V SUV, according to officials.
The suspect, identified as 33-year-old David Zepeda, was taken into custody Wednesday morning following an hours-long standoff with authorities at his home in Alhambra.
David Zepeda, 33, was taken into custody Wednesday morning following an hours-long standoff with authorities at his home in Alhambra. He is accused of fatally stabbing a 17-year-old boy in El Sereno and injuring another man. (FOX 11)
Anyone with information about either of these attacks is asked to call detectives at 213-996-4116, or 1-877-527-3247. Those wishing to remain anonymous can submit tips by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or going to lacrimestoppers.org.