An 82-year-old Navy veteran was brutally stabbed to death while shopping for birthday cards at a California 99 Cents Only store.
Hanford Police say that the attack was “random” as the victim, William Chartrand, and the killer, Ryan Washington, 23, did not know each other.
HANFORD, CALIFORNIA:
82-year-old Navy veteran Will Chartrand was stabbed to death yesterday while shopping for a birthday card
You didn’t hear about this story because it doesn’t fit the narrative pic.twitter.com/r05RVHtD1P
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 4, 2023
“It is just a shocking incident,” Hanford Chief of Police Parker Sever said, according to a report from KFOX 14. “When your loved one goes out to the store, you expect them to return, and that wasn’t the case in this incident.”
“You can’t be hyper-sensitive to every single thing around you, and we saw no signs that this individual showed abnormal behavior beforehand that something like this was going to happen,” Sever added while explaining that the attack could not have been predicted.
Washington had a prior criminal history of theft.
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— ib (@Indian_Bronson) October 6, 2023
“The victim, William, was doing nothing other than shopping at the store, and as he was walking down the aisle, he was followed behind by the suspect and was subsequently attacked for no apparent reason,” Sever said.
Washington was arrested at the scene and booked into Kings County Jail. He is currently being evaluated for mental health issues.
Martin Devine, the victim’s stepson, told the station he was a “wonderful person.”
“He never met a stranger, always friendly with everyone,” Devine said. “He would walk up to complete strangers and give them compliments. Strong Christian, strong values, loved his country, and always put my mother first.”
Devine wants answers about the motive.
“There’s only one person who can answer this, and he’s sitting in jail right now,” he said.