Lancaster small-business owner and employee stabbed before attempted carjacking, authorities say

LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) -- A suspect was arrested Wednesday night after he allegedly stabbed a small-business owner and an employee in Lancaster and then attempted a carjacking nearby, authorities said.

The incident occurred at about 8 p.m. at the Automod Racing body shop in the 44400 block of Sierra Highway, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies saw a man in his 20s attempting to carjack a female driver, a sheriff's spokesperson said. The suspect fled but was apprehended by the deputies a short time later.

As the suspect was being taken into custody, two men approached the deputies. The men said they had been stabbed by the suspect earlier that evening.

Noel Dizon, the owner of Automod Racing, said the attack began when the suspect threw a beer inside the shop. Dizon said he chased the man, who then stabbed him in the shoulder with a knife.

The employee tried to intervene and was also stabbed in the confrontation.

According to Dizon, the attacker said: "Your shop is done. I'm coming back for you."

"So now I'm threatened," Dizon said in an interview. A scar was visible on his shoulder, and his ripped T-shirt was stained with blood. "So I said to the cop: 'We've got to make sure he -- I'm feeling not so good because this guy's coming back for me.'"

Both of the stabbing victims sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, the Sheriff's Department said.

Authorities believe the attempted carjacking and the stabbings were random attacks.