California authorities are searching for an armed killer who's on the run after breaking into a home and repeatedly stabbed an eight-year-old girl to death.
Leila Fowler's 12-year-old brother was at their home with her in Valley Springs around noon on Saturday when he encountered the intruder, who immediately fled.
The terrified boy went to check on his sister and made the horrifying discovery.
He called 911 and she was later pronounced dead at hospital.
Residents in Calveras County have been ordered to lock their doors as deputies search for the suspected killer, who is described as a white or Hispanic male with long gray hair.
He is believed to be at least six feet tall and was last seen wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and blue pants.
A neighbor said he spotted the suspect fleeing shortly after the 911 call.
Police officers from neighboring areas have been called in to help as authorities hunt down the suspect.
'We were doing a house-to-house search and in some cases we're searching extensively into attics and storage sheds,' Calveras County officer Jim Macedo told CBS Sacramento. He added: 'It’s a difficult area to search. It’s rural, it’s remote.'
A quarter-mile perimeter was set up around the house as police conduct the house-to-house search.
Macedo said the girl was suffering from severe injuries and her death has been ruled a homicide. He urged residents to keep their doors locked until they find the suspect.
Horrifying: Leila Fowler's 12-year-old brother was at their home with her in Valley Springs around noon on Saturday when he encountered the intruder, who immediately fled
Leila would have turned nine-years-old in June.
Schools in the Calaveras Unified School District will be open Monday.
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Mark Campbell, the district’s superintendent, said in a statement Sunday that there will be an added law enforcement presence at Jenny Lind Elementary and bus stops nearby.
Valley Springs is a community of about 2,500 people in an unincorporated area of Calaveras County, known as "Gold Country," in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, about 60 miles southeast of Sacramento.
Manhunt: California police officers are searching for the man suspected of murdering a 9-year-old girl
Witness: The girl's 12-year-old brother was at their home with her in Valley Springs around noon on Saturday when he encountered the intruder, who immediately fled
Lockdown: Residents in Calveras County have been ordered to lock their doors as deputies search for the suspected killer