Child Killed In Garden Grove, Step-Father In Custody, Cops Say

GARDEN GROVE, CA — An 11-year-old Garden Grove girl is dead and her 73-year-old step-father is accused of killing her when a domestic dispute turned violent, police said Wednesday.

Garden Grove police say officers arrived to the scene on Blossom Avenue of the family attack to find the girl fatally stabbed, her mother wounded in the front yard, and two boys inside the home, unharmed.

Officers encountered Tanh Thien Tran, the stepfather of the girl, who was armed with a knife, on the "threshold of the patio door," Lt. Carl Whitney told reporters. "We started to negotiate with this guy to surrender and he refused to come out."

Officers made their way inside and got the remaining two children to safety, according to Whitney. The 11-year-old was seen lying on the floor with stab wounds inside the same room as the suspect, he said.

Officers covertly sneaked across the room and grabbed the little girl, picking her up and exiting with her, unbeknownst to Tran.

Tran was ultimately subdued with rubber bullets and beanbag rounds, was arrested at the scene. He suffered multiple self-inflicted stab wounds, police reported. He is suspected of also stabbing and shooting his wife, the girl's mother.

Both the girl and the mother were rushed to UC Irvine Medical Center, where the girl was pronounced dead 90 minutes later, according to Whitney.

The 36-year old mother survived the attack and was listed in "stable condition," Garden Grove police reported. The couple's biological 3-year old boy, and his other step child, a 6-year-old boy were found unharmed at the scene.

The family had experienced multiple domestic disputes, Whitney said.

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Renee Schiavone, Patch Staff Photo