(VENTURA, Calif.) — A suspect has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a Walmart employee before driving his car onto the sidewalk, killing a 15-year-old boy and injuring three other teens in Ventura County, California.
Austin Eis, 24, was arrested for murder, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting a police officer and brandishing a weapon, Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Wendell Campbell said at a press conference Wednesday.
The suspect’s bail has been set at $5 million. He will be arraigned Thursday at Ventura County Superior Court. Eis, who was initially in the hospital due to injuries from the crash, is now in police custody, according to Campbell.
Before the deadly crash, which authorities believe was intentional, the suspect stabbed a Walmart employee and assaulted a second person, according to the Simi Valley Police Department.
Eis allegedly fled the scene before officers arrived, but witnesses told police he was driving a white Toyota Camry missing its front bumper and gave them its license plate number, according to the Simi Valley Police Department.
The Walmart employee suffered at least one stab wound and was transported to a local trauma center for treatment, police said.
While authorities were investigating the Walmart stabbing, Eis was apprehended at the scene of a collision where he crashed into four Westlake High School students, according to the Simi Valley Police Department.
The vehicle drove off the street and struck the students as they were walking on the sidewalk, according to the school district. Three were transported to nearby hospitals for medical attention while the fourth student was killed.
Two of the student victims have now been released from the hospital while the third is still receiving care, Campbell said.
Police have not yet determined the suspect’s motive for the attacks, Thousand Oaks Police Department Chief Jeremy Paris said. Paris added that authorities do not believe Eis has a prior criminal record.
Campbell said it is likely that the suspect was living out of his car.
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