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Woman killed, 2nd injured in violent Del Cerro home invasion

Posted at 5:17 AM, Jun 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-14 02:27:50-04

SAN DIEGO – A woman was killed and a second woman was injured when a man invaded a Del Cerro home, sexually assaulted at least one of the victims and then stabbed both with a knife overnight Sunday, San Diego police said.

The 20-year-old suspect, identified as Eduardo Torres of San Diego, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder, sexual assault and burglary.

SDPD Lt. Manny Del Toro said Torres had a "violent criminal history." 10News checked criminal records and found a 2015 conviction for vandalism.

According to police, the incident began at around 11:40 p.m. Sunday when a man attempted to break into a home in the 5600 block Mill Peak Road, near Adobe Falls Road. A resident called 911 to report that a man had tried to break a window to her house, but she had scared him away. However, as officers responded, they learned the suspect had left the first home and gotten access to an adjacent home by also breaking a back window.

Neighbor Veronica Shokoor, who called police, told 10News, "I got very nervous so I went, 'Help! Help!' because my brother-in-law and son were chasing the guy to my neighbor's house. I was very scared."

The initial caller’s stepson, Edrees Shokoor, went to the victim's home in an attempt to warn the occupants, but it was too late. Del Toro said one of the occupants told Shokoor a male intruder with a knife was already inside.

There were three people inside the second home at the time -- a 74-year-old Vietnamese woman who resides in the home, her 56-year-old son and a friend, a 50-year-old Vietnamese woman, who was visiting from Chicago. The suspect somehow locked the son outside and then sexually assault at least one of the victims, police said.

Arriving officers set a perimeter around the house. At one point, the suspect yelled to officers that he was armed with a knife and a gun and that he planned to kill his two hostages, police said. Officers could hear a woman in distress. They entered the home and found the suspect holding a knife, along with the two women, who both had stab wounds to their upper body. Torres dropped the knife, surrendered and was taken into custody. No gun was found on Torres.

The two women were rushed to a local hospital. The 74-year-old woman died from her injuries just before 2 a.m., police confirmed. Her friend is expected to survive. The son was not hurt.

A motive for the crimes was unclear, and Del Toro said the suspect was unknown to the victims.

Afterward, Edrees Shokoor reflected on his actions: "Yeah, I was shaken up. It hits you after you find out this dude was coming for us first. His initial intent was to go for my sister and I ran after a killer."