A man has been arrested in connection with a string of random stabbings over the course of two days in Seattle that left one woman and eight men injured — five of them on Friday afternoon, police said.
“This incident was clearly a series of random attacks by an individual over a 38-hour period,” Deputy Chief Eric Barden said at the scene Friday.
The stabbing occurred Friday afternoon in a roughly four-block area of Seattle's Chinatown-International District.
Police said witnesses described the suspect and officers found him nearby and took him into custody. Police said that a weapon was found in the possession of the arrested person and a knife was found in the body of one of the victims.
Lindsay Wasson/AP
Four of the victims, all men, were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and one victim was treated at the scene and released. A hospital spokesperson told CBS News Friday evening that two of the victims were in critical condition and a third was in serious condition.
Barden said police suspect the man arrested in connection with Friday's stabbing is the same person involved in at least four other stabbings that occurred early Thursday morning. He cited similar suspicious descriptions and the randomness of the attacks, but also said the investigation was ongoing.
A string of stabbings in Chinatown began Thursday when a 52-year-old woman was found with multiple stab wounds, police said. A 32-year-old man was stabbed multiple times on Thursday afternoon and a 37-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the back around 8 p.m., police said.
Then on Friday morning, police responding to an assault call found a 53-year-old man bleeding heavily from a neck injury. Police followed the trail of blood to a nearby door and unsuccessfully used it as a starting point for police dogs to try to track down a suspect.
“It is my understanding that everyone is alive,” Barden said of the victims Friday afternoon.
The 10th stabbing Thursday night involved a cellphone robbery in which someone forced open a vehicle door and tried to stab a 60-year-old man in the chest, police said. Police said the victim stopped the attack and his hand was cut. Police said it was unclear whether it was linked to random attacks.