Car Wash Stabbing Suspect Detained

A suspect in the stabbing that occurred Friday morning at has been detained, a spokesperson told Santa Monica Patch on Friday afternoon.

The suspect is a former car wash employee who was recently terminated.

Rigo Torrez, manager of the car wash, was stabbed around 10:20 a.m.

"There was some kind of dispute," the spokesperson said.

Torrez was stabbed once in the back. After that, the suspect fled and was later detained.

Torrez is still in the hospital, recovering from the injury.

"He's probably going to be OK," the SMPD spokesman said.

Police have not released the age or name of the suspect.

The identity of the victim was confirmed to Santa Monica Patch by a car wash clerk early Friday afternoon. The clerk said Torrez "was attacked by someone."

The clerk, who was not working at the car wash at the time of the incident, did not know more details about what happened.

Santa Monica Patch learned of the incident on Friday morning after receiving a news tip from a reader. The car wash was closed and was "swarming with police," the reader wrote.

A police foresincs vehicle was seen leaving the car wash and heading south on 24th Street around noon.

Police were no longer at the car wash shortly after noon.

The reader later told Santa Monica Patch that police had said the knife used in the stabbing was found in the alley behind the Wilshire West Car Wash. They subsequently cordoned off the alley.