Dorothy Deramus' sense of security has been shattered. She was in her Cascades Crossing home last Monday, Jan. 2, when a 25-year-old man was stabbed five times and ran into the apartment across from her own.
"I don't feel so comfortable," she said Sunday. "I'm alone."
THE LOUDOUN COUNTY Sheriff's Office dispatched investigators to Huntington Square in the Sterling apartment complex at about 10:26 p.m. Witnesses told authorities that they saw three black males in their early 20s chasing the victim, who received multiple knife wounds to the chest and back.
He was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital where he was listed in critical but stable condition. Kraig Troxell, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, said the victim was no longer in intensive care but remained hospitalized Monday, Jan. 9.
Police are looking for a blue sports utility vehicle, possibly a recent model Explorer or Expedition, with a broken rear passenger-side window.
Troxell said investigators are not aware of whether the victim knew the three men and they also do not know the motive for the attack.
THE VICTIM TOLD police he lives in Reston, but Huntington Square residents said they believe he lives in the complex.
Deramus said she had often seen deputy sheriffs at her neighbor's home. "I don't ask no questions," she said.
On the night of the stabbing, "I hear all the ruckus going on," she said. Deramus said she opened her door, but she did not venture outside.
Across the street, Jason Burt said he looked out and saw the Sheriffs' cruisers. "This is a nice area," he said. "I'm a little concerned, but not too concerned."
He said he would be more troubled if the incident was gang-related than if it were domestic.
Brock Anzalone, who lives on the second level of Deramus' apartment, said a man knocked on his door after the stabbing, but he decided not to answer it. He was not alarmed. "It happens," he said.