The man was found about one mile away from where the stabbing occurred early Friday morning. He was arrested at Oro Vista Ave and Grove Street, according to Los Angeles police.
The incident happened around 7:45 a.m. on Eldora Avenue as the little girl and her grandfather were getting ready to leave for school. The man and the child were both taken to the hospital and are in stable condition. Their exact ages have not been released.
Newly-obtained Ring camera video shows the frantic scene during the attack outside the home. The video shows the suspect confronting the grandfather in the street before jumping into the family's car.
Neighbors say the suspect has been tormenting the neighborhood for some time.
Police described the suspect as a transient, but residents told Eyewitness News he's been a problem on the street for some time. They added that he's been staying with family members at the house next door to the victims.
"All kinds of crazy stuff," said neighbor Mike Agajanyan. "Just your worst nightmare as a neighbor. You don't want this in your neighborhood."
Another neighbor shared a photo of what they say is the suspect sitting next to a tree looking over their fence.
Eyewitness News reporter Carley Gomez spoke with the suspect's family, who says he has been dealing with bouts of psychosis and schizophrenia for some time now.
"He has mental issues. I wanted him to get the help. I didn't want it to come to this," said the suspect's brother, Esteban Avilez. "The place they had him instituted at, somebody told him he doesn't have to take his medication, and he listened to that person."
The family says they are grateful their neighbors are in stable condition. They say the suspect, Eric Avilez, is being booked but has yet to be charged.
Neighbors on Eldora Street say they're upset to hear about the little girl and her grandfather who were stabbed on Friday morning, though they say the incident is not exactly shocking.
Agajanayn spoke with the family of the victims, who didn't want to go on camera. He detailed what took place.
"The grandpa puts the granddaughter into the car, psychopath runs at the granddaughter, attempts or straight up stabs her on the arm, grandpa runs at him," Agajanayn said. "He turns a knife on him and stabs him in the neck and on the arm, and then that moron jumps into the car. Luckily, the grandpa was able to pull the kid out of the car, and takes off with their car."
Police say the suspect then fled in the family's Volvo onto McVine Avenue.
"That was the victim's vehicle he took off in. We were able to track that vehicle to that location," said Sgt. Michael Foster with LAPD.
Police say the suspect has a history of mental illness. They did not immediately release his name, though the family identified him as Eric Avilez.
Neighbors say a similar incident almost took place months ago.
"A child almost got stabbed six months ago, and was released three days after the stabbing. Six months later, now that child is in the hospital," Agajanayn said.
"We're working to confirm that there was a similar-type incident that occurred," Foster said. "We're looking through the records to determine if, in fact, that did occur."
Neighbors say they've called police multiple times for help, and feel nothing is being done.
"You guys are pushing all of us to that point where we're going to start arming ourselves, and if you can't control your streets, we're going to control our streets in our neighborhood," Agajanayn said.