Modesto stabbing victim's son says she's recovering but shaken

The son of the 51-year-old woman stabbed at a Tully Road shopping center the morning of New Year's Day posted on Facebook Tuesday night that she was expected to return home Wednesday.

"She is pretty messed up, tho," Brandon Bond posted. He said his mother is healing but shaken by the experience.

The attack occurred about 5:30 a.m after the woman left Baker Boy Donuts to walk to her car, said Joseph Chhun, who owns the bakery with his wife, Mary. The business is in the shopping center at Tully Road and Bowen Avenue anchored by dd's Discounts and Dollar General.

Chhun went to the woman's aid after he heard her cry out, he said. He brought her into the shop, where the Chhuns called for an ambulance and police.

Police said the woman was stabbed multiple times but the wounds were not life-threatening. Chhun said the woman was wearing a jacket, which likely protected her from the wounds being deeper.

Detectives said the stabbing appears to be a random act, and they are looking for witnesses. "At this point it is unclear what motivated the attack," the Modesto Police Department posted on Facebook. The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s or 30s, about 5-foot-8, with no facial hair and wearing dirty clothes.

Baker Boy has several interior cameras whose footage is displayed on a TV behind the counter, but the man hadn't been in the store, the Chhuns said. There is a camera trained outside the store, but it was too dark for the attack to be picked up, they said.

The shopping center, named Gregory Gardens, has security only from 4 to 10 p.m., the Chhuns said. It can be scary when they're the only business open at 5 a.m. and arrive sometimes two hours earlier to begin baking. "You don't know what's going to happen," Joseph said.

This winter, a young man has sought to sit in the bakery in the early morning to escape the cold, the Chhuns said. But Joseph said the attack has made them more wary, so they've told the man — who is not the one sought in the stabbing — he can't stay. He's now been sleeping in the doorway of an adjacent business.

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.

This story was originally published January 3, 2018 at 10:01 AM with the headline "Modesto stabbing victim's son says she's recovering but shaken."