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Woman Attacked, Stabbed In Santa Monica Apartment Invasion

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) – Authorities are searching for a man who forced his way into a Santa Monica apartment early Friday morning and a stabbed a woman who was asleep inside.

According to Santa Monica police, the break-in occurred at 3:30 a.m. in the 1700 block of 5th Street.

The woman told officers the suspect broke into the apartment, woke up the woman and demanded cash. He then grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the woman in the arm several times, police said. Following a struggle, the suspect fled.

The woman was rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery. She is in stable condition, police said.

Investigators believe the suspect has a significant cut on his hand. They followed a series of blood drops and then a small pool of blood in the 1500 block of 12th Street, about seven blocks away, which prompted a SWAT callout and search of the area.  Police found a bloody sweatshirt at that location and booked it into evidence.

"It was pretty overwhelming," resident Brian Dietrich said of the police presence. "There were drones flying overhead, a fully armed SWAT team, maybe 10 to 15 people."

Woman Attacked, Stabbed In Santa Monica Apartment Invasion
A surveillance photo of a man wanted in a violent apartment invasion in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 23, 2018. (Santa Monica Police Department)

A surveillance photo has been released. The man is described as black, 25 to 30 years of age, wearing a red beanie and dark-colored camouflage pants.

Anyone with information about the suspect should call police at 310-458-8491.

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