As First Responders Try Saving Stabbing Victim, Man Not Involved Steals Ambulance: Police

That triggered a 10-mile chase that left multiple parked cars damaged until the ambulance slammed into a truck, flipping it on its side, and finally coming to a stop. But all of this was completely unrelated to the reason the first responders were on the scene at the Downey City Library over the weekend.

The call came Saturday morning about two men arguing in front of the library when it suddenly turned violent. A witness to the shocking attack detailed what he allegedly saw to local ABC affiliate KABC.

"The gentlemen were arguing right outside here. One guy pulled out a knife -- the guy that had the flannel -- and started just stabbing the other gentleman," the witness said. "The gentleman fell down, and once the gentleman fell down, he went for one more strike to the neck, and that's where the blood ... you know what happened."

Local police told the outlet that first responders were there shortly after the attack, which happened around 9:40 a.m., according to local CW station KTLA, but they were unable to save the victim, who died at the scene.

The suspect, a 23-year-old homeless man, took off running, per police, but was apprehended a few hundred yards away at Downey High School. The victim was also later determined to be unhoused, according to KTLA, though it remains unclear what might have precipitated the alleged argument and subsequent attack.

That might have been the end of at least that portion of the criminal case, but then another one erupted out of nowhere.

According to police, as the first responders were on the ground and attempting to save the stabbing victim, a man completely unrelated to that crime jumped into the Downey Fire Department ambulance at the scene and sped out of the parking lot.

KABC notes that the library shares its parking lot with City Hall and the Downey police department. Video from the nearby Embassy Suites captured officers giving chase, both on foot and in patrol cars, per KTLA's reporting. A woman could be heard shouting, "He's stealing the ambulance!"

"It ended up just kind of swerving, and it had about 12 cop cars behind it," the same witness who saw the initial stabbing attack told KABC about the ambulance theft.

The chase went on for 10-15 miles, according to multiple news outlets, with the ambulance thief allegedly crashing into several parked cars in a neighborhood until it finally came to a stop in the city of Alhambra after crashing into a parked truck, flipping that vehicle up onto its side. There were no injuries reported in the crash, according to police.

KABC was on that scene quickly, with one neighbor they spoke to telling them that the 52-year-old suspect, who police have said was from Los Angeles, per CBS News, did not go quietly, and in fact, was still not quiet while they were interviewing him.

Additionally, according to footage from the Citizen app reviewed by KTLA, the man's pants fell around his ankles while he was being arrested, leaving him fully nude from the waist down. Police ultimately redressed him and he was taken into custody.

"I did not know it was a car chase before, but I thought it was very odd," the witness at this second scene told KABC of seeing the ambulance leading police cars through the neighborhood. "When I came back, he was still screaming. He's still screaming in the car, in the police SUV, right now, even right now."

In a press release after the incident, DPD stated, "Detectives from the Downey Police Department are actively investigating both incidents and following all available leads. These incidents appear to be isolated, and the investigation is ongoing."