Suspect arrested after stabbing pregnant woman at Mira Mesa ATM

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Authorities have arrested a man suspected of stabbing a pregnant woman multiple times in a Mira Mesa parking lot Saturday morning.

The suspect was tracked down and arrested in Carmel Valley around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, San Diego Police Sergeant Eric Drilling said. He was identified as 27-year-old Cole Klemke.

According to police, Klemke was apparently not related to the woman but had a criminal past. Tips from the public after the suspect’s description was released played a key role in his arrest.

The stabbing occurred as the 25-year-old woman was standing at a Bank of America drive-thru ATM around 10 a.m. Saturday. She was stabbed in the neck, left shoulder and chin as she stood outside her vehicle, police said.

“This appears to be a random exchange between the victim and the suspect,” Drilling said. “Prior to the attack…no money or anything else was demanded. So it appears the suspect simply approached the victim, stabbed him and then fled the scene.”

The victim, who was four months pregnant, was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is now recovering at home, police said.

Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the attack.

Mira Mesa residents are grateful that the attacker is no longer on the streets – but say they still do not feel completely safe.

“People just don’t feel safe in parking lots. A simple trip to a Target can be the equivalent of a robbery,” says Joseph Mabolo, a Target shopper in Mira Mesa.

Mabolo is also a father and husband and says this attack made him want a safer community in Mira Mesa.

“You know, this could happen to anyone in this neighborhood. As a father and a husband, I know it was a pregnant woman, and this neighborhood has definitely changed a lot in the last few decades,” Mabolo said.