The man who was killed after attacking a Santa Monica Police officer this weekend stole the knife used in the attack from the Downtown Target store just five minutes before the assault.
The police department has identified the suspect as Deyaa Abdelhadi Halaibeh, 28, originally from New York State. SMPD said his housing status is currently unknown but he has no criminal history in California and no prior contacts with the Santa Monica Police Department.
According to SMPD Halaibeh approached an officer on Saturday outside the Public Safety building at the corner of Olympic and 4th St. Police say Halaibeh launched an unprovoked attack on that officer stabbing him several times before the officer was able to draw his gun and fatally shoot Halaibeh.
On Tuesday, SMPD said Halaibeh stole the knife from the Downtown Target store minutes before the attack.
"Halaibeh is suspected of committing a robbery at the Target store at 420 Broadway in the city minutes before the attack at the police station," said Lt. Erikia Aklufi in a statement. "At approximately 5:16pm, a SMPD Downtown Services Unit officer was flagged down by store security about a robbery that just occurred. An employee of the store was pushed to the ground and a box of kitchen knives taken by a male subject who fled the area. The box was later found abandoned with one knife missing. This knife, an 8" chef’s knife, was used by the subject when he accosted the officer."
The store is located about three blocks from the police station and the SMPD officer was stabbed five minutes later at about 5:21pm.
The Target store at that location has been a hotbed of theft since opening. The location was one of many around the country that moved much of its merchandise behind lock and key in recent years as retailers battle with near constant shoplifting but while soap, toothpaste, medicine, electronics and alcohol all require employee assistance to take off the shelf, the kitchen supplies (including knives) remain unsecured.
This is the second time a knife stolen from a Target store has made headlines for its use in an attack.
In 2022, a homeless man walked into a downtown Target store and stabbed two people, including a 9-year-old boy before he was shot and killed by a security guard. In that case, the stabbings took place in the Target store at FIGat7th, a large multi-level open shopping plaza located in the city’s Financial District.
The suspect came into the store, grabbed a large butcher-style knife from a shelf and approached a 9-year-old boy, saying several times that he was going to kill him before stabbing a woman in the chest.
Anyone with information about Halaibeh or the Saturday’s attack is asked to contact either Detective Zamfirov, Detective Sergeant Lozano or the Watch Commander (24 hours a day) at (310) 458-8427.
matt@smdp.com
