PASADENA, Texas – Two people remains hospitalized with severe injuries, one after being stabbed outside a Pasadena Walmart, the other after being hit by a vehicle, and the suspect in both incidents is the same man.
The stabbing happened Wednesday morning outside the Walmart at 5200 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena police said. The person of interest taken into custody following a short foot chase is also hospitalized.
On Thursday, Pasadena Police identified 37-year-old John Hart as the suspect in both the stabbing and another incident where a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle on Tamar Drive.
Hart is charged with one count of evading and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Once released from the hospital, he will be booked into the Harris County Jail.
Officers responded around 10:30 a.m. after receiving a 911 call about the stabbing in the Walmart parking lot. Witnesses told police the victim, a man in his early 40s, was approached by the suspect, a man in his late 30s to early 40s, and stabbed in the upper torso.
Life Flight transported the victim to an area hospital, where he remains in the ICU after surgery. Authorities said the suspect’s vehicle matched surveillance footage from the Walmart, and officers located the car using Pasadena’s Flock camera system.
A traffic stop led to a brief pursuit that ended in the 3000 block of Dankman Street, where the suspect fled on foot before being apprehended.
At this time, investigators do not believe the suspect knew the victim, and no motive has been identified.
Walmart remained open during the investigation. Pasadena Independent School District placed Bondy Intermediate School and Turner Elementary on secure mode at 11 a.m., but the precaution was lifted within minutes.
Pasadena Police say both victims remain hospitalized with serious injuries. Out of respect for the families, the victim’s names are not being released at this time.