In a bizarre series of events early Monday morning, a hotel desk clerk in La Jolla, California, stabbed a guest before fleeing and driving his car off a pier, according to San Diego police.
The suspect, 23-year-old Aaron Tran, was found dead in San Diego Bay with self-inflicted wounds after police recovered his body.
Tran had checked two guests into their room at The Shoal La Jolla Beach hotel and later called them, claiming he needed to enter their room due to a water leak next door, police said in a news release. Once inside, Tran handed his phone to one of the women, displaying a threatening message on the screen. When she looked up, he was holding a knife.
Tran stabbed her in the upper chest before the woman managed to escape with the other woman, who was unharmed. The injured woman was treated at the hospital and released.
Meanwhile, Tran had fled the scene in a Honda Accord and was seen speeding through the streets before driving off a pier and crashing into the water.
A witness to the crash, Gio Martinez, described the chaotic scene to NBC San Diego.
“80 miles an hour, they just went straight into the water. It did not stop,” Martinez said. “That thing was like 10 feet away from my brother. Everything was crazy. Everything happened really fast.”
Police told NBC San Diego that Tran likely drowned while remaining in the car.
Tran had been working at The Shoal La Jolla Beach hotel for about six months and had no known criminal history. The motive for the attack is still unclear, and police confirmed Tuesday that the case remains under investigation.