TAMPA, Florida — A man has been arrested in Maryland in connection to the deadly stabbing of a woman and a teenage girl early Sunday morning in Tampa.
Jean Pierre Salazar, 25, is facing three felony charges — first-degree murder, second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Police said they were called just before 9 a.m. Sunday to a home on Riveredge Drive off Interstate 75 in reference to a 14-year-old girl with stab wounds.
They arrived to find the teen girl as well as a 35-year-old woman with similar injuries.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The teen was taken to a local hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Detectives said Salazar stabbed both of them after getting into a verbal argument with the woman. Immediately after the stabbing, the 25-year-old reportedly left the home in a white sedan that he later abandoned.
Investigators were able to determine that Salazar fled to a home in Maryland where he was taken into custody on Monday by the U.S. Marshals Capitol Area Fugitive Task Force. He is being held at Maryland's Montgomery County Correctional Facility while he awaits transport.
"Mourning the loss of a loved one, after their lives were taken in such a tragic manner, is unfathomable. During this difficult time, we will continue to provide support to the families of the victims involved," Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. "Salazar's arrest proves that our detectives will stop at nothing to ensure that those who commit a crime, especially one as heinous as this one, are held accountable."