Police said Joaquin Escoto, 28, was arrested after the attack near Orville Wright Elementary School.
MODESTO, CA — A Modesto family is grieving after two women and a 2-week-old baby were fatally stabbed Thursday morning inside a south Modesto home, where police later arrested a 28-year-old suspect found hiding nearby.
The killings shook the airport neighborhood near Orville Wright Elementary School and led to a large police response, a school lockdown and the relocation of students. Modesto police said the victims included a woman about 23, a woman about 54 and an infant. Family members identified the baby as Mateo and said the three victims were part of the same family.
Officers were called shortly after 9:20 a.m. Thursday to the 1600 block of Monterey Avenue after a report of a disturbance. Police said they found the younger woman outside or near the home with multiple stab wounds. She died at the scene. Officers then searched the residence and found the older woman and the infant with apparent stab wounds. The older woman also died at the scene, and the baby was taken to a local hospital, where the child later died. A family member, speaking through tears, described the deaths as “a great tragedy” and said, “Their lives were taken away.”
A second child, about 4 years old, was found inside the home and taken to a hospital for medical evaluation and clearance, police said. Authorities have not released the victims’ official names through the coroner’s office. Relatives told local reporters the victims were three generations of one family: a sister, a niece and the niece’s newborn son. The family member said baby Mateo was 2 weeks old. Investigators said Joaquin Escoto, 28, shared a child with one of the victims, but police have not publicly detailed the exact relationship between Escoto and each person killed.
Police set up a perimeter after gathering information that led them to believe the suspect was still in the area. The department’s Hostage Negotiation Team, SWAT team and Investigations Division responded as officers searched homes near Monterey and Thrasher avenues. Orville Wright Elementary School was placed on lockdown as a precaution because of the police activity nearby. Modesto City Schools later moved students and staff by bus to La Loma Junior High School, about a mile and a half away, where families were reunited with children. Officials said the relocation was done because police expected a prolonged operation near the campus.
Escoto was later found hiding inside a nearby residence and was taken into custody without incident, police said. Detectives said early findings point to an isolated attack and that they do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the public. Police did not immediately announce formal charges or a court date. The case is being handled as a homicide investigation, with detectives expected to continue gathering witness statements, physical evidence and medical examiner findings before the case moves through the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.
The scene left neighbors and relatives stunned in a part of Modesto where homes sit close to the elementary school. Police tape blocked the area as officers moved between the home and nearby properties. Parents waited for updates while school officials worked with police to complete student reunifications away from the scene. The family’s grief centered on the loss of the newborn, whose life had just begun, and on the two women relatives said were killed with him. “My sister and my niece and her baby Mateo,” the family member said while describing the victims.
The investigation remained active Friday as authorities worked to confirm the victims’ identities and prepare the case for prosecutors. Police said no broader public threat was known after Escoto’s arrest.
Author note: Last updated May 29, 2026.