Three injured in southeast Santa Rosa stabbing

A Lake County man was arrested Wednesday after police said he stabbed a woman and fought with a police officer in southeast Santa Rosa.

Middletown resident Enrique Avina, 28, is facing charges of attempted murder and assault on a police officer in an incident that sent him and two others to the hospital, Santa Rosa police said in a news release.

Police received a call at 11:55 a.m. Wednesday from someone inside a business on the 600 block of Yolanda Avenue who reported that a woman had been stabbed, said Sgt. Kyle Philp. The caller said that a man, whom police identified as Avina, had entered the business, approached an employee and sliced her neck.

Philp declined to name the business where the incident occurred, though multiple people with knowledge of the incident said it happened at Goodwill.

An officer arrived and confronted Avina in the parking lot, but Avina was confrontational and refused the officer’s commands, police said. He yelled at the officer to shoot him several times, Philp said. At some point before the officer approached him, Avina had slashed his arm with a sharp tool, possibly a razor blade, Philp said.

Seeing that Avina was no longer armed, the officer tried to use his Taser on him. It was ineffective, and the officer wrestled Avina to the ground. Other officers arrived to assist, and they eventually took Avina into custody.

During the struggle, the first officer suffered minor injuries, including an open wound on his elbow, sore ribs and some cuts and scrapes, Philp said.

The officer, whose name is not being released at this time, was treated at a local hospital and later released.

The victim, who is a Santa Rosa resident, was in surgery at a local hospital Wednesday night, Philp said. She is expected to survive, but her injuries are “very significant,” he said. Police declined to release her name because of the violent nature of the crime.

Avina was treated at a local hospital for the self-inflicted cut to his arm, police said. He also suffered scratches from his struggle with the officers.

Investigators still don’t know what motivated the attack. Avina knew the victim, but officials don’t yet know the nature of their relationship, Philp said.

An employee at Goodwill who answered the phone Wednesday referred questions to police.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact the Santa Rosa Police Department’s violent crimes investigations unit at 707-543-3590.

You can reach Staff Writer Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337 or chantelle.lee@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ChantelleHLee.