Man in Critical Condition After Stabbing at Mall

Arcadia police and officials at Santa Anita Fashion Park said Thursday that the stabbing of a 24-year-old Alhambra man that left him in critical condition was an isolated incident and that they will not increase security at the mall.

The stabbing occurred after the victim, identified as Andy Thuy Tran, and four young men exchanged “hard looks” Wednesday night and a fight broke out, Arcadia Police Capt. Dave Hinig said. Tran’s wife and young child were also present, Hinig added.

None of the combatants knew one another and are not affiliated with gangs, Hinig said.

The fight was witnessed by an off-duty Pasadena school police officer, which led to the prompt arrests of two of the attackers. Two others remained at large.

The fight began about 7:50 p.m. when Tran--who was celebrating his birthday--rode the escalator up from the mall’s central court with his family, passing the four young men who were riding down, Hinig said. Tran and the men glared at one another and exchanged “harsh words,” Hinig said.

Once he reached the second floor, Tran left his wife and child and rode the escalator back down to where the men were standing, Hinig said. The men attacked Tran and he was stabbed in the head with an unknown weapon. The attackers fled.

One suspect, identified as Enrique Guerrero Ferias, 21, of Los Angeles, was grabbed by the off-duty Pasadena officer, Hinig said. A second suspect identified as Kristopher Omar Vaca, 19, of Los Angeles was arrested by Arcadia police in the mall parking lot.