ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — People were shocked to learn that a stabbing occurred outside a movie theater while a shooting took place near an Applebee's a few hours later in Escondido. Both places are known as public and family-friendly locations.
For many Escondido residents, dining out and enjoying a movie are common weekend activities. However, the recent violent incidents at these popular shopping locations, less than two miles apart, have left residents like Jody Shannon reconsidering their plans.
“You start to think - I'm in a movie theater," Shannon said. "I feel vulnerable.”
At around 7:40 p.m. on Saturday, Escondido police said two groups got into a fight outside the Regal Escondido Movie Theater. During the fight, two teenagers were stabbed and a third was hit in the head.
“It’s a hangout spot for young kids, the movie theater," Julia McDiarmid said. "Parents will drop their kids off - they know they’ll be there safe for a couple hours.”
Five hours later, authorities said a 20-year-old man was shot in the head while leaving an Applebee's restaurant around midnight Sunday.
Authorities said that the victim and a group were exiting the restaurant's parking lot in an SUV when an unknown vehicle arrived and began firing shots into their car before fleeing the scene.
"The saddest thing is that they were so young,” McDiarmid said.
The victims in both incidents are expected to survive. The Escondido Police Department is still searching for the suspects.
