Two UCLA nurses stabbed in separate Sylmar, Torrance incidents

The original version of this article contained an error and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.

This post was updated at 12:53 p.m.

Nurses at two UCLA hospitals were wounded in separate, unrelated incidents Sunday morning after they were stabbed on duty, officials said.

One female nurse, who was not named, was stabbed just after 2 a.m. at the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, said Lt. Denise Stephenson from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in a written statement. The nurse is currently in critical condition, according to the statement.

Ramiro Carnalla, 26, the man who allegedly stabbed her, was taken into custody at the hospital, which is about 20 miles north of UCLA. Carnalla was arrested twice this year and was jailed for a month between March 11 and April 11 on an unspecified felony charge, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. Bail for his March arrest was set at $35,000.

Carnalla, a Los Angeles resident, entered the hospital and bypassed the weapons screening area, fleeing from security and police officers, Stephenson said.

Officials said they heard a woman scream as they searched the hospital for Carnalla. They ran toward the sound and found the nurse, who was stabbed several times in her upper and lower torso.

A knife was recovered at the scene, Stephenson added.

Another stabbing occurred at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance at 9:20 a.m. when a man grabbed a nurse from behind and stabbed her in the ear with a sharp object, which officials said they believe to be a pencil they recovered from the scene. The nurse suffered non life-threatening injuries and received medical treatment.

Thirty-eight-year-old Thomas Robert Fredette of Santee, Calif. stabbed the nurse after clearing a weapons screening area, officials said.

Fredette is being held on $130,000 bail for assault with a deadly weapon and is set to appear in Torrance Court on Tuesday, according to the statement. Carnalla was taken into custody, but no information regarding his charges or court date was immediately available.

There is no indication the two cases are related, said Deputy Sheriff Kim Manatt of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Both investigations are ongoing, Manatt said.

Compiled by Sam Hoff, Bruin staff and Kristen Taketa, Loic Hostetter and Andrew Erickson, Bruin senior staff.

Correction: The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported an incorrect spelling of Ramiro Carnalla’s first name.