Women stabbed in Pullman apartment; Two WSU students victims of early-morning assault

A bloody cordless phone lay on its side where it was dropped just feet away from the crimson-stained concrete outside the Pullman apartment where two women were stabbed early today.

The first call came in at 2:51 a.m., with a woman crying to dispatchers, "someone is trying to kill me."

When officers arrived minutes later, they found the two women on the ground near the door to a Valley Road apartment -- both with multiple stab wounds.

The two women were taken to Pullman Memorial Hospital while detectives combed the area for evidence.

One of the victims, a 26-year-old woman, had stab wounds to the back of her head and chest. She was evaluated by a surgeon this morning and listed in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries.

The second woman, 24, had stab wounds to the back of her head and also was reported in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries.

Both women were treated in the emergency room and were admitted to the hospital in satisfactory condition.

Both women are seniors in the microbiology department at Washington State University.

Police said a Vietnamese interpreter was brought in to talk to the victims, who are both Vietnamese.

Police have not released the names of the two victims.

Sgt. Jim Corcoran said the two women were apparently sleeping when a man entered through the front door, which apparently was locked. The man then allegedly went into the bedroom and began stabbing the two.

At this time, he said, it doesn't appear the assailant forced his way into the apartment. He reportedly fled on foot after the attack.

Based on the blood and evidence collected so far, the two victims apparently ran from the apartment after the attack in an attempt to get help.

Dispatchers were flooded with calls from people who reported hearing screams in the parking lot of the complex at 1325 Valley Road.

Detectives secured a search warrant for the apartment about 9 a.m. and spent most of this morning going through the apartment to collect possible evidence.

During the search of the apartment, detectives recovered two eight-inch knives with plastic handles which are believed to be the weapons used by the assailant.

A suspect in the assault has been described as an Asian male, approximately 5-feet tall and weighing between 110 and 120 pounds.

Detectives still are trying to determine a motive for the attack, Corcoran said.