PHOENIX (CBS5) -
One person has been arrested and several others are still being sought in connection with an April 28 double stabbing at a Phoenix apartment complex.
Johnny Romero, 22, was arrested Friday evening on charges of outstanding warrants and probable cause of first-degree murder.
Police say two men stabbed to death during a weekend memorial vigil were trying to protect three teenagers who ran to their apartment for help.
The victims were two men. They are identified as 54-year-old Ker Reh and 24-year-old Kay Reh. They were stabbed to death by five people chasing the teens, police said.
Three teenagers had come to the apartment complex near 28th Avenue and Camelback Road just before midnight Sunday to join others in mourning the death of a community member, said Phoenix Police Sgt. Steve Martos.
The teenagers had been confronted a short time earlier by a group of Hispanics who had challenged them to a fight, officers said. As the teens returned to the complex, the Hispanics began calling them derogatory names, police said.
Those teens were confronted by five other teenagers, four males and a female, as they entered the complex, got into a fight and then ran to the apartment where 40 to 50 people were inside for the memorial, Martos said.
The two victims walked out of the apartment to calm the suspects, who stabbed them repeatedly. All five suspects ran, Martos said.
Complicating the investigation was a severe language barrier, Phoenix police Lt. Shane Disotell said.
All the witnesses are from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and don't speak English.
"With the language barrier and multiple people involved, we're still at the beginning stages of the investigation," Disotell told reporters shortly after midnight.
Anyone with information about the identities of the remaining suspects or the stabbing is asked to call 602-262-6141 or Silent witness at 480-WITNESS.
Copyright 2013 CBS 5 (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.
Police looking for clues in fatal double stabbing. (Source: Chad Black, cbs5az.com)
Johnny Romero (Source: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)
28th Avenue and Camelback Road (Source: Chad Black, cbs5az.com)
Police remained on the scene throughout the day. (Source: KPHO-TV)
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