Suspect Arrested In San Mateo Knife Attack: Police

SAN MATEO, CA — A man was arrested Thursday evening as a suspect in a knife attack in a tunnel system beneath downtown San Mateo, police said.

Officers responded shortly after 10 p.m. to the Caltrain parking lot at 385 First Ave. where a stabbing was reported in a culvert known as "Darcy's Tunnel."

As police assisted a victim who had been stabbed in the hand, they were told the attack was a targeted incident between people familiar with each other.

While witnesses interviewed, enabling officers to identify a suspect, a police canine was tracking the attacker's escape path.

Hermelindo Agustin Lucas, a 37-year-old San Mateo resident, was arrested blocks away from the attack scene while walking home, police said, and the knife used in the attack was recovered during the arrest.

The stabbing victim was hospitalized, and Lucas was booked at San Mateo County Jail for two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and an active warrant for alcohol related disorderly conduct.

Police credited community assistance in locating the suspect.

San Mateo police and the city's Public Works "have collaboratively partnered with North B Street merchants and St. Vincent de Paul in an effort to address the homeless issue, loitering, and criminal activity plaguing Darcy's Tunnel," officials said in a news release. "We are looking to mitigate any further issues and implement long-term solutions."

Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. — Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.