Campus Alert Archive
UC Davis

Five Days, Three Stabbings, One Former Student: The Davis Serial Attacks That Shut Down a College Town

CAstabbingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Between April 27 and May 1, 2023, three people were stabbed in separate attacks in the city of Davis, California, killing a homeless man and a UC Davis senior and critically injuring a homeless woman. The attacks triggered a shelter-in-place order and widespread fear until a former UC Davis student was arrested on May 3.

Alerts
4
Response
—
Killed
2
Injured
1
Institution
University of California, Davis
Public R1 · CA
~40,000 studentsAggie Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

4 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction187 chars
AGGIE ALERT: Shelter in place advisory in effect for Davis. Stabbing reported in downtown area. Suspect at large. Avoid outdoor areas until further notice. Monitor aggieAlert for updates.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from news reports; the shelter-in-place was issued after the third stabbing on May 1
Davis police received a 911 call at approximately 11:46 PM PDT on May 1 reporting a stabbing at 2nd and L streets
This was the first campuswide Aggie Alert related to the stabbings, issued after the third attack heightened urgency
UPDATESMS+4h 47m
Approximate reconstruction210 chars
AGGIE ALERT UPDATE: The shelter in place advisory has been lifted. Davis Police have concluded their search. Suspect has not been located. Use caution and report suspicious activity to Davis PD at 530-747-5400.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from news coverage; the shelter-in-place was lifted at 5:17 AM PDT on May 2
Police concluded their overnight search without locating the suspect
The university subsequently moved all classes ending after 6:00 PM to virtual format
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction205 chars
AGGIE ALERT: A suspect has been detained in connection with the recent stabbing incidents in Davis. Davis Police and FBI are conducting an ongoing investigation. Continue to monitor aggieAlert for updates.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from news coverage; Carlos Dominguez was arrested on May 3-4, 2023
The arrest brought relief to the campus community after days of fear and canceled evening activities
Dominguez had been academically dismissed from UC Davis on April 25, two days before the first killing
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Verified verbatimUC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May's campuswide 'Healing Together' message, reproduced verbatim234 chars
There is relief in knowing the alleged perpetrator of these senseless and violent acts is now in custody. We can all breathe a little easier and begin to process the pain, fear, and sorrow we collectively experienced in the past week.
Verbatim quote from UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May's campuswide message issued Thursday May 4, 2023, after the arrest of Carlos Reales Dominguez
The chancellor's framing — 'breathe a little easier' — is unusually personal and explicitly emotional language for a UC chancellor's communication
The phrase 'collectively experienced' reflects the institutional posture that the trauma extended beyond direct victims to the entire community
Context

Background

Between April 27 and May 3, 2023, the city of Davis, California, was gripped by a series of three random stabbing attacks that killed two people and critically injured a third. The first victim, David Henry Breaux, 50, a homeless man, was found fatally stabbed on a bench in Central Park on the morning of April 27. Two days later, UC Davis senior Karim Abou Najm, 20, a computer science major, was stabbed to death at Sycamore Park. On May 1, Kimberlee Guillory, 64, a homeless woman, was stabbed through her tent at an encampment at 2nd and L Street shortly before midnight; she survived and called 911. Following the third stabbing, the city issued a shelter-in-place order that was lifted the next morning at 5:17 AM PDT. UC Davis canceled all evening in-person classes and moved them to virtual instruction. On May 3, police arrested Carlos Reales Dominguez, 21, a former UC Davis student who had been academically dismissed on April 25, just two days before the first killing. Dominguez was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. In August 2023, he was found not competent to stand trial and was transferred to a state hospital; his competency was restored in December 2023. At his 2025 trial he admitted committing the stabbings but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, testifying that he has schizophrenia and attacked the victims believing they were shapeshifting figures. In June 2025 the jury found him not guilty of first-degree murder and deadlocked on second-degree murder, and a mistrial was declared.
Analysis

Key Findings

The suspect had been academically dismissed from UC Davis just two days before the first stabbing, raising questions about intervention for students experiencing academic crises
The city-level shelter-in-place order was not issued until after the third stabbing, five days after the first killing
UC Davis kept the community informed via Aggie Alert and WarnMe messages throughout the crisis
Outcome
Carlos Reales Dominguez, 21, a former UC Davis student who had been academically dismissed two days before the first stabbing, was arrested on May 3, 2023, and charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He was found not competent to stand trial in August 2023 and transferred to a state hospital; his competency was restored in December 2023. At trial in 2025 he admitted to the stabbings but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, testifying he has schizophrenia. In [June 2025 the jury found him not guilty of first-degree murder but deadlocked on second-degree murder, resulting in a mistrial](https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/carlos-dominguez-davis-murders-trial-updates/).
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    UC Davis stabbings: 21-year-old former student charged (CNN)
    cnn.com
  2. News
    Former UC Davis student arrested in fatal stabbings (NBC News)
    nbcnews.com
  3. News
    3rd stabbing in a week near UC Davis (CNN)
    cnn.com
  4. News
    Stabbings unsettle UC Davis campus (Inside Higher Ed)
    insidehighered.com
  5. Official
    Suspect Still At Large as Shelter in Place Is Lifted (UC Davis)
    ucdavis.edu
  6. News
    Mistrial declared in Davis stabbings trial; jury found Carlos Dominguez not guilty of first-degree murder (CBS Sacramento)
    cbsnews.com
Tags
stabbingserial-attacksshelter-in-placeformer-studentcaliforniapublic-universitymulti-day-eventacademic-dismissal
Added April 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion