Encino Hospital Stabbing Suspect is in Custody After 3 People Stabbed 6/05/22 Transcript

Gigi Graciette: (00:00)
Good evening, Coco. Good evening, everyone. We are learning more about the man behind the stabbings. What police say they don’t know yet is what, if any, motive he may have had. Take a look at the video. His name is Ashkan, Askcan [inaudible 00:00:16] Soleimani, the 35 year old behind bars tonight accused of the attempted murder of three people at Encino Hospital on Ventura Boulevard yesterday. Soleimani, no stranger to the hospital. Sources telling us he had been treated in the ER before where he had at least one other violent outburst. At one point, reportedly threatening to shoot and stab the medical staff. Police say he made good on those threats yesterday afternoon, when using would appear to be a pocket knife, stabbed a doctor and two nurses, not long after arriving at the ER, complaining he wasn’t feeling well and was dehydrated. After the stabbing, police say he entered a hospital storage room. At one point, grabbing a hospital phone and calling 9-11 himself.

Gigi Graciette: (01:02)
What he told the dispatcher, part of the investigation, the stabbing victims taken to Northridge Hospital’s trauma center. The doctor in critical condition was rushed into surgery immediately. SWAT was called, the ER evacuated, and the rest of the hospital locked down as police tried for hours to get this guy to give up. They were finally able to go into that storage room and arrest him. Soleimani, who has a history of mental illness and has been arrested before on charges of attacking a police officer was taken to another hospital to be treated for what police said were self-inflicted cuts. And today, well today, the ER opened again with everyone returning to work shaken, but committed to helping others.

Speaker 2: (01:48)
I got to tell you is that it’s an incredible thing to watch how brave they are. People come to work knowing what happened yesterday. And once again, showing up brave and compassionate and caring to once again, regardless of what happened to their friends and coworkers yesterday, do what they’ve done on a day to day basis, taking care of people.

Gigi Graciette: (02:13)
Soleimani faces three charges of attempted murder and he’s being held on $3 million bail. As for the three victims, two of the nurses were released from the hospital to be cared for at home and the doctor, we’re told that she is now in fair condition after having undergone surgery, but the road to recovery for her will be a long one. Reporting live in Encino, I’m Gigi Graciette. Coco?

Coco: (02:41)
A very disturbing situation. Thanks so much Gigi for that live report.