SANTA MONICA—On Tuesday, October 8, Lt. Erika Aklufi of the Santa Monica Police Department provided an additional update to Canyon News on the subject who attacked a police officer on October 5.
On Saturday, October 5, at approximately 5:21 p.m., the SMPD reported that one of their officers was the victim of an unprovoked attack in front of the police station. A male in his 30s stabbed the officer several times before being shot by the officer. The subject died at the scene.
While the investigation into this incident is still ongoing, the identity of the subject has been confirmed as Deyaa Abdelhadi Halaibeh, a resident of New York. His current housing status is unknown. He has no criminal history in California and no prior contacts with the Santa Monica Police Department.
Halaibeh is suspected of committing a robbery at the Target store at 420 Broadway in the city minutes before the attack at the police station. At approximately 5:16 p.m., a SMPD Downtown Services Unit officer was flagged down by store security about a robbery that just occurred.
An employee of the store was pushed to the ground and a box of kitchen knives taken by a male subject who fled the area. The box was later found abandoned with one knife missing. This knife, an 8 inch chef’s knife, was used by the subject when he accosted the officer.
Anyone with details about this individual or incident is asked to contact Detective Zamfirov at peter.zamfirov@santamonica.gov, Detective Sergeant Lozano at alfonso.lozano@santamonica.gov, or the Watch Commander 24 hours a day at 310-458-8427.
By Trevor