Three Marines were taken to the hospital after being stabbed in San Clemente, California, in the late hours of Friday night, Marine Corps officials have confirmed.
The stabbing occurred on El Camino Real road, local news outlets reported, which is home to many popular bars and taverns in San Clemente.
“1st Marine Division is aware of an altercation that took place on the night of August 3rd at a San Clemente bar that left three Marines with non-life-threatening injuries," 1st Marine Division spokesman Capt. Paul Gainey told Marine Corps Times Monday in an email.
"The Marines are assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Marine [Regiment] at Camp Pendleton. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has taken suspects into custody and is investigating the situation.”
Lt. Col. Christopher Tolliver, the commanding officer of 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, confirmed to Marine Corps Times that all three Marines involved in the stabbing were infantrymen.
He was unable to comment on the nature of the altercation due to an ongoing investigation by Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Orange County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jaimee Blashaw confirmed that one person has been arrested.
“A little after 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, Orange County sheriffs responded to a stabbing call," Blashaw said. "The sheriffs did detain three subjects in connection with the stabbing and one was arrested. The investigation is still currently ongoing.”
Twenty four-year-old Alexis Moreno-Aguirre has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, according to Blashaw.
Blashaw also explained that the cause of the initial altercation between the Marines and the two unnamed individuals that were later detained is unclear. However, there was enough evidence to arrest Moreno-Aguirre for allegedly attacking the Marines with a weapon.
Moreno-Aguirre is currently being held at Orange County Jail and is ineligible for bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.
Neil is a former US Army Captain and served operational deployments in South Korea and Afghanistan. He is currently an Editorial Fellow at the Military Times.
