Huntington Beach man arrested in Cal State Fullerton stabbing, police say

A Cal State Fullerton employee who lives in Huntington Beach has been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a retired university administrator, authorities said Thursday.

Chuyen Vo, 51, was arrested at 10:16 p.m. Wednesday and is being held without bail, Fullerton police said in a news conference Thursday. Lt. Jon Radus would not say more about the relationship between Vo and Steven Shek Keung Chan, 57, a co-worker he is accused of killing.

Chan was stabbed multiple times Monday throughout his body inside his car, which was parked in a campus lot. He was bleeding from his head and paramedics performed lifesaving measures, but he died at the scene.

“We as a Titan family have suffered a devastating tragedy that’s hit close to home,” said university President Framroze Virjee. “Our hearts are with Steven Chan and with his family and everyone in the campus community.”

Radus declined to say how investigators identified Vo as the suspect.

The slaying appears to have been a targeted attack, police said. During their investigation, authorities found an “incendiary device” and a backpack under the victim’s car that contained zip ties and disguises.

The assailant was seen Monday running near Langsdorf Drive and Nutwood Avenue from the parking lot toward a nearby Marriott hotel. He had been described as in his mid-20s and wearing all black.

The search for the attacker extended into Tuesday. Authorities combed the area with the help of Orange County Sheriff’s Department bloodhounds but could not find a suspect.

Investigators released a sketch and surveillance video in hopes that someone could identify the man seen running from the crime scene. Police think he fled in a black four-door BMW sedan with black wheels and dark tinted windows that was parked in a nearby lot east of the 57 Freeway.

Monday’s attack, on the first day of the academic year, frightened the campus community and students, who are slated to start classes next week.

Chan was Cal State Fullerton’s director of budget and finance and student services for university extended education from 2009 until he retired in 2017. He returned to the campus early this year as a special consultant.

He was a private man who mostly kept to himself and was methodical in his work, according to Ellen Treanor, a campus spokeswoman. He had an undergraduate degree in accounting from Cal State Hayward and a law degree from Whittier Law School.

“He was a man of few words,” Treanor said. “He refused to have a going-away party but hugged everybody when he came back.”

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde writes for the Los Angeles Times. Times staff writer Hannah Fry contributed to this report.

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