UPDATE: Dec. 11
Auburn Police arrested a suspect believed to be responsible for the knife attack inside a Placer County Library on Tuesday afternoon.
Police arrested 33-year-old Joseph Opada late Tuesday night on Carolyn Street. In a Facebook post, the department said Opada would be booked into Placer County Jail on one count of attempted murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, not a firearm.
The arrest came hours after police say a knife-wielding man attacked people inside the Placer County Library off of Nevada Street in Auburn. Three people were injured, two were taken to a hospital to be treated.
According to police, Opada was a transient living in Auburn. A motive behind the attacks has not yet been determined.
UPDATE: 11:50 p.m.
AUBURN, Calif. — Police in Auburn are still searching for a knife-wielding man they say attacked people inside of a Placer County Library Tuesday afternoon, sending two people to the hospital.
Lonnie Brewer, who was inside the library when the attack happened, told ABC10 that he thought the alleged attacker and one of the victims were friends because "it looked like he was hugging him."
"I saw a knife in his hand — I saw a black thing in his hand," Brewer recalled. "He stabbed him in the neck, he stabbed him in the stomach, then he ran out. And as he’s running out, there’s a guy on the computer, and he hits him in the head, and then he starts running."
By the time the suspect finished the attack, three people were left injured. Two were transported to a hospital, and one was treated at the library.
Auburn Police officials would not confirm the witness report of an allaged stabbing and are calling it a "knife attack."
ABC10 will update this developing story as more information becomes available.
UPDATE: 6:35 p.m.
The Auburn Police Department released photos Tuesday evening of a man who was seen in the area of an afternoon knife attack at a library.
The two photos released show a person of interest walking and running in the area of the Placer County Library on Nevada Street in Auburn. Police said the man was seen running away from the library after the knife attack.
At least three people inside the library were injured in the attack. Two of them were taken to the hospital, but the severity of their injuries in unknown.
Police describe the person of interest as a black man, roughly 20 to 30 years old, standing at 6'3" to 6'5" and just under 200 pounds. Police say he was clean shaven with a buzz cut and wearing a black shirt, black zip-up sweatshirt, black shoes, and black shorts.
ORIGINAL:
An Auburn library was forced to close Tuesday after three people were injured inside by a man with a knife, Auburn Police officials confirmed.
The incident happened around 1:40 p.m. inside the Placer County Library off of Nevada Street in Auburn, according to Auburn Police Department authorities. Police say three people were injured, but only two people were taken to a hospital to be treated.
The severity of the victims' injuries is still unclear.
Police are are still trying to find the suspect, who they describe as a black man, roughly 20 to 30 years old, standing at 6'3" to 6'5" and just under 200 pounds. Police say he was clean shaven with a buzz cut and wearing a black shirt, black zip-up sweatshirt, black shoes, and black shorts.
Melinda Lacey, an Auburn resident, makes regular stops at the library with her kids. The library has video games for the kids and movies for the seniors, but the crime scene at the library comes as a shock.
“It's just quiet and nice, and we’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Lacey.
If you have any information on this incident, call the Auburn Police Department at (530) 823-4234.
ABC10 will update this developing story as more information becomes available.
FOR NEWS IN YOUR COMMUNITY,
DOWNLOAD THE ABC10 APP:
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for ABC10's Daily Blend Newsletter
READ ALSO: