SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A man suspected of stabbing a woman at a La Jolla motel died after he drove his car into the water near the USS Midway Museum early Monday morning.
Just after midnight, the San Diego Police Department said officers were called to the Shoal La Jolla Beach motel at 6750 La Jolla Blvd. in response to a reported stabbing on the property.
According to police, two women in their 20s were in a room when a male employee, identified as 23-year-old Aaron Tran, told them that there was a leak next door and he needed to get into their room.
Police said once inside, Tran walked one of the women to the bathroom area, handed her his cell phone, and displayed a message that read, “Don’t scream, I have a knife and I will cut you, put your hands behind your back.”
Tran then stabbed the woman in the collarbone area and arm, and he fled the scene in a white Honda Civic, police said. The victim screamed, waking up the other woman in the room, and they both fled into the parking lot and called 911.
About 30 minutes later, Harbor Police attempted to stop a wrong-way driver near the intersection of Harbor Drive and Market Street in downtown San Diego.
The car matched the description of Tran's Honda Civic. However, the pursuit was terminated shortly after when officers lost sight of the vehicle.
A witness who was at the Navy Pier told ABC 10News that he saw the car doing donuts and revving the car's engine in the parking lot before it sped towards the end of the pier at a high rate of speed and launched into the water.
Harbor Police and teams of San Diego Lifeguards responded to the scene. After several hours, they recovered Tran and the vehicle from the bay. Tran, who appeared to have self-inflicted stab wounds, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said they believe the stabbing victim did not know the man who attacked her. She was treated for her injuries and released from the hospital.
The motive surrounding the attack at the motel is under investigation.
San Diego Police are seeking the public’s help regarding this or any similar cases involving Tran. Anyone with information can contact Lt. Paul Phillips, Northern Division, at 858-552-1704 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this report stated that the suspect led police on a chase into downtown from La Jolla before driving into the water. A San Diego Police Department spokesperson clarified this detail Monday afternoon, noting that a Harbor Police officer briefly spotted the car driving the wrong way in downtown San Diego before it launched off the pier.
