Man sought for violently attacking, robbing Santa Ana massage spa owner

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Santa Ana police are asking for the public's help to find a man caught on surveillance video walking into a massage parlor and brutally attacking the owner.

Police say on Monday, a man entered So Relax Massage in the 3700 block of West McFaddden. After chatting briefly with her, he attacked her.

"I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe," said Ling Wong, the business owner.

Wong said the man had already been at the parlor twice that night. He paid for massages both times. The third time, he snuck into the back and startled her. He told her he'd lost his phone.

She told him to go into the room to look for it and that's when he pulled a gun out of his pocket and began attacking her. She said he demanded money and only became more violent when she tried to run.

"He tried to hit me. He said, 'I'm going to rob you.' He pulled out a gun and said, 'I'm going to rob you,'" she said. "(He hit me) four or five times on my head. I was knocked down to the floor."

The man eventually found cash and left. Wong was left with bruises and cuts all over her body and now she's scared to go back to work. She said she's grateful to be alive.

"I don't want to die here, no. So the moment I thought, 'I have to survive, I have to survive,'" she said.

Police said the video shows the man waiting in his red Camry in the parking lot after his second massage, waiting until other customers left. They want to find him and stop him from attacking anyone else.

"This is a violent individual. In the end, this was over $200, that's what he gets out of this," Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

The man is described to be between 22 and 28 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 160 lbs, with short black hair, a medium complexion and a tattoo on his right forearm. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, gray sweatpants and black shoes with white soles.

If you have any information, call Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS.