Hunt On For Suspect Who Brutally Attacked Clerk In Restroom

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputies on Wednesday released surveillance photos and video hoping the public can help identify a suspect wanted in connection with an attack of clerk at a Mobil station in the Harbor City/West Carson area.

The 53-year-old convenience-store clerk was "brutally" slashed acrossthe face and abdomen at about 6 a.m. Saturday, June 16, while she worked at the gas station at 900 Sepulveda Boulevard, deputies said.

The male suspect entered the store, made a "small purchase," then asked the clerk if he could use the restroom.

He went into the restroom and exited a few seconds later asking the clerk to '"fix the toilet," the agency said.

When the woman entered the restroom, the suspect followed her inside and then attacked, cutting her with an unknown object. He then fled the store and drove off in a red car heading south on Vermont Avenue, deputies said.

The man was described as Hispanic, approximately 20 years old, 5 feet, 11 inches tall with dark hair and weighing between 160 and 170 pounds. He was wearing a red T-shirt, black pants, and a black and green hat with the phrase “I (marijuana leaf) Weed,” the department said.

His four-door vehicle had a sunroof, vertical slats on the front grill and possibly a sticker or chipped paint on driver’s side door frame, according to deputies.

The victim, a mother of six, was transported and treated at an area hospital for the "significant injuries" she received, the department said.

"Since the brutal attack she has been unable to return to work," deputies said, adding that the clerk said she had never seen the suspect before, and there there is no known motive for the attack.

Surveillance video from inside the store, but outside the restroom, showing the suspect and the female employee can be viewed below.

Anyone with information about this incident and the suspect is asked to contact the Carson Sheriff’s Station at (310) 830-1123. Those wishing to provide information anonymously, may call "Crime Stoppers" by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), use a smartphone by downloading the “P3 MOBILE APP” on Google play or the App Store, or through the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.

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--Images via LA Co. Sheriff