Suspect arrested after 6 stabbed, including 4 girls, in separate attacks Massachusetts police say are likely connected
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By Celina Tebor, Paradise Afshar, Samantha Beech and Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN
(CNN) — A suspect was arrested Saturday after six people – including four girls between the ages of 9 and 17 – were stabbed in separate attacks that Massachusetts authorities say are likely connected.
The girls, who were attacked at a movie theater, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to Boston hospitals for treatment, according to police in Braintree. About an hour later, a 21-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were stabbed at a Plymouth McDonald’s and taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
A suspect in the McDonald’s stabbings, Jared Ravizza, was arrested 15 minutes after fleeing the scene Saturday night and faces multiple assault charges, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.
Ravizza, 26, is the suspect in “multiple South Shore stabbing incidents,” the attorney’s office said, though no details on the other incidents were provided. Braintree police have said it “appears as though” the attacks at the movie theater and McDonald’s, which occurred about an hour apart, are related.
The stabbing of the four girls at the AMC happened around 6 p.m. in Braintree. The theater was placed in lockdown shortly after the incident, an AMC employee told CNN.
“Without saying anything and without any warning, he suddenly attacked and stabbed the four young females,” police said of the suspect. “The attack appeared to be unprovoked. After the attack, the man ran out of the theater and left in a vehicle.”
Police discovered the suspect had left the theater in what appeared to be a black SUV, and video footage allowed authorities to capture its license plate, the release says. A vehicle matching the description was “reportedly involved in similar assault in Plymouth,” which is about a 30-minute drive south of Braintree, police said.
Ravizza allegedly arrived at the scene of the Plymouth McDonald’s stabbings in a black Porsche Macan SUV, according to prosecutors. Police were called to the scene around 7 p.m., about an hour after the AMC attack in Braintree, the district attorney’s office said.
Surveillance footage from the McDonald’s appears to show Ravizza reach through the drive-through window and stab the male victim with a large knife, prosecutors allege. Video then shows the suspect park his car, enter the restaurant and stab the female victim before fleeing in the car, according to the district attorney’s office.
Within minutes, state troopers located the suspect’s car, but it failed to stop when they tried to pull it over. Police chased the vehicle, which crashed in Sandwich, about a 25-minute drive south of Plymouth, according to police.
“Preliminary investigation suggests a likely connection to an earlier incident at a movie theatre in Braintree resulting in non-life threatening injuries to four juveniles,” state police said.
Ravizza was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a hospital on Sunday, the prosecutor’s office said.
Ravizza will face multiple charges related to the McDonald’s stabbings, including assault with intent to murder and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, prosecutors said. He is expected to appear in court Tuesday.
CNN has been unable to identify an attorney for Ravizza but has sought further information from the Massachusetts State Police, Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and Braintree Police.
The Massachusetts State Police’s investigation is active and ongoing.
Separately, Connecticut State Police said a suspect linked to a death in the town of Deep River had been taken into custody in Massachusetts. Police in neither state have confirmed whether the Connecticut case is connected to those in Massachusetts.
In a statement released late Saturday, Connecticut State Police said they responded Saturday afternoon to a “disturbance” at an address within the town. There, police found a “deceased individual” whose identity has not been confirmed, Connecticut State Police said.
“A suspect in this investigation has been taken into custody in the State of Massachusetts and there is no active threat to the public,” the release said. It did not name the suspect.
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