Police on Friday arrested a man accused of stabbing five people in downtown Seattle’s streets. Authorities suspect he might be connected to five additional stabbings in the same area since early on Thursday morning, according to police reports.
“This incident was apparently one individual over a 38-hour period of time committing random assaults,” Deputy Chief Eric Barden said at the scene Friday.
Barden told the reporters at the scene that the unidentified assailant seemed to target victims at random, with only one person being robbed — of a mobile phone.
The violent attacks occurred on Friday afternoon within a concentrated area spanning approximately four blocks in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District.
After receiving witness descriptions of the perpetrator, law enforcement officers located and arrested the suspect in close proximity to the incident site.
Each incident involved one victim, with nine out of ten being male, Barden said. He continued that the severity of injuries varied from superficial cuts to significant stab wounds, necessitating hospital treatment for four of Friday’s casualties.
“This is a horrific tragedy, a mass casualty event,” Barden added.
Officers who made the arrest discovered a weapon near the suspect, whilst another knife remained lodged in one victim’s body.
Several victims provided visual confirmation of the suspect’s identity following his detention, Barden reported.
In the United States, indiscriminate stabbing incidents occur less frequently compared to mass shootings.
