SANTA MONICA—Lt. Rudy Flores of the Santa Monica Police Department informed Canyon News via email that a suspect was arrested on Monday, March 7 in connection to an attempted murder. At approximately 1:15 a.m., officers were dispatched to the Salvation Army (1533 4th Street) to investigate an Assault with a Deadly Weapon that occurred. The reporting party provided a description of the suspect and continued to monitor him as he walked away.
Officers arrived and detained Michael Montgomery,29, in the area of 4th and Colorado and recovered a folding knife on Montgomery. The victim was in found in front of the Salvation Army and was suffering from multiple stab wounds. Authorities began to render first aid until personnel from the Santa Monica Fire Department arrived and transported the victim to a local hospital.
A witness on scene identified Montgomery as the suspect involved in the incident telling officers that he saw Montgomery strike and stab the victim multiple times. The witness yelled for Montgomery to stop. Montgomery followed up by kicking the victim and dragged his body a short distance while he was down.
Montgomery was transported to the Santa Monica Police Jail where he was booked for Attempted Murder 664-187 PC and 207(A) PC – Kidnapping. The victim remains in critical, but stable condition. The name of the victim and his connection to Montgomery has not been disclosed to the public. Lt. Flores informed Canyon News that the suspect has a prior criminal background for “minor offenses.” He added that the motive for the attack is unknown at the time.
Anyone with any additional details about the incident is asked to contact Detective George Burciaga at 310-458-8932 or the Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458-8426.
