West Hills, CA – A violent stabbing rocked the Red Lobster restaurant at 22800 Vanowen Street in West Hills on September 7, 2023, leaving a woman seriously injured and prompting a swift response from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The incident, which occurred shortly before 7:00 p.m., saw the victim stabbed twice in the abdomen, with the suspect fleeing on foot across the street past a nearby gas station. LAPD detectives are actively investigating, but the suspect remains at large.
At approximately 6:50 p.m. on September 7, 2023, LAPD officers from the Topanga Division responded to reports of a stabbing at the Red Lobster on Vanowen Street, a busy commercial strip near Fallbrook Avenue. Arriving officers found a woman in her 60s with two stab wounds to the abdomen. The victim, conscious but in at least serious condition, was transported by the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) to a local hospital, where she is expected to survive, per LAPD statements.
Witnesses reported the suspect, described as a 36-year-old white male wearing a green shirt, dark shorts, and with a neck tattoo, fled the restaurant on foot, running across Vanowen Street past a gas station. About a half-mile away, on the 6900 block of McLaren Avenue, an ambulance was requested for a man with forehead lacerations, believed to be the suspect, though his involvement remains unconfirmed. It’s unclear whether the victim and suspect knew each other or what triggered the attack, with LAPD withholding further details pending the investigation.
LAPD detectives are leading the probe, collecting evidence from the Red Lobster, including potential surveillance footage, and canvassing the area for witnesses. The suspect’s flight path, toward McLaren Avenue, suggests he may have sought medical attention or attempted to blend into the residential neighborhood. The LAPD’s Topanga Division, reachable at (818) 756-4800 for tips, is urging anyone with information to come forward, with anonymous tips accepted via Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
The stabbing unnerved West Hills, a San Fernando Valley community known for its suburban calm but recently shaken by incidents like the April 2023 Trader Joe’s parking lot shooting in the same 22800 block of Vanowen Street, which left one dead.
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