Elderly Asian woman stabbed in California while walking dogs

An elderly Asian woman was stabbed to death on Saturday in Riverside, Calif., while walking her dogs, according to authorities.

CNN reported that Riverside police received several phone calls about 64-year-old Ke Chieh Meng suffering from stab wounds on Golden Avenue in the neighborhood of La Sierra after being attacked while walking her two small dogs in the morning.

She was taken to the hospital and later died.

Soon after the attack, authorities received reports from neighbors in the area of “a transient woman walking through their yards and appearing suspicious,” according to CNN.

The woman, 23-year-old Darlene Stephanie Montoya of Los Angeles, was later safely detained, Riverside police said.

“When our detectives interviewed the suspect, they didn’t come across anything to suggest she attacked the victim due to her race,” Riverside police spokesman Ryan Railsback said, according to CNN.

Montoya is being held without bail at Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of murder, a weapons violation and being under the influence of an illegal substance. She was previously arrested by Riverside police on March 30 after she attacked a woman with a skateboard near a strip mall, according to authorities.

This incident occurred less than a month after a deadly shooting in Atlanta that resulted in the death of eight people, six of whom were Asian women. The attack has sparked a nationwide conversation on the recent rise in anti-Asian violence.