Law enforcement officials from numerous agencies work on evacuating the Capitola Mall on Monday close to 1 pm where a woman was stabbed to death. (Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian)

A woman was stabbed to death outside the Capitola Mall just before 1pm on Monday afternoon. 

Capitola Police confirmed that an “older” woman was stabbed to death just outside an entrance to Macy’s and the main entrance to the mall’s food court.

Within minutes of the incident, police from Capitola, Watsonville, the California Highway Patrol, Fish and Wildlife, Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office swarmed the area to stage a guns-drawn rapid search of the mall.

As police officers evacuated the entire mall and shut down surrounding streets, the suspect, according to police radio traffic, phoned 911 dispatchers and said he was indeed the man who stabbed the victim. The suspect was found standing in back of the Best Western Hotel a few blocks away on 41st Avenue.

That’s where Capitola Police and Sheriff’s Deputies rushed to the scene and took the suspect, an adult African-American male in jeans and a bloody T-shirt, into custody.

Meanwhile police closed down a section of the heavily traveled Clares Street.

In a social media post, Capitola Police Department said it is “seeking information regarding an incident that occurred earlier today at approximately 12:47pm at the Capitola Mall. Officers responded to a physical altercation near the food court parking lot closer to Clares Street.”

Capitola Police ask that if anyone was near the food court around that time and witnessed any part of this incident, to call the Capitola Police at 831.475.4242.

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Tarmo Hannula has been the lead photographer with The Pajaronian newspaper in Watsonville since 1997. More recently Good Times & Press Banner. He also reports on a wide range of topics, including police, fire, environment, schools, the arts and events. A fifth generation Californian, Tarmo was born in the Mother Lode of the Sierra (Columbia) and has lived in Santa Cruz County since the late 1970s. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz and has traveled to 33 countries.

5 COMMENTS

  1. I see from other articles in your publication that you don’t mention ethnicity. Why did you feel the need to mention it in this article?

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  2. Wonder how many times liberal judges have let him go without punishment prior to this.

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