Elderly Woman, Dog Fatally Stabbed In California; Suspect Arrested

A man was taken into custody Thursday after a woman and a dog were stabbed to death in San Dimas, Southern California.

Deputies were informed about an assault with a deadly weapon in Lone Hill Park at around 1:35 p.m. ET, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

“The call indicated a woman was screaming and later updated indicating a woman was being stabbed,” cops said in the statement.

Upon arrival, authorities found a white woman in her 60’s lying unresponsive on the road. The victim, who suffered multiple stab wounds, was declared dead at the scene, the report stated.

Next to the woman’s body, cops also found a dead dog. Police haven't identified the woman yet.

Cops said in the statement that there was an additional victim, a white male in his 30 who witnessed the knife-wielding suspect -- a 23-year-old Hispanic male.

According to the statement, the suspect gave the male bystander a chase but navigated toward the female victim who was walking her dog in the park.

The suspect then grabbed the dog by its leash and snatched it from the woman’s grip before stabbing it. The suspect then turned to the female victim and stabbed her.

During the attack, the witness struck the suspect in the head with a rock and knocked him unconscious, the department said.

The responding officers took the suspect to a hospital, where his head injury was being scrutinized, KTLA-TV reported. He will be booked for murder.

A knife was recovered from the scene.

Tony Page, the father-in-law of the male, identified him as 31-year-old Joe Cohen. "Joe was sitting in his vehicle, watching this horrific thing take place," Cohen told the outlet. After seeing the woman being attacked, Page said Cohen got out of his car and grabbed a rock. "He threw it, hit the suspect in the face, knocked him out and he was able to basically subdue and hold the suspect until authorities arrived," Page told KTLA-TV.

The motive behind the murder wasn’t immediately known.