Suspect in unprovoked stabbing shot to death by officers in Maryland, police say
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A police officer in Montgomery County shot and killed a man after reports he had, without provocation, stabbed four people at random on Saturday, officials said.
The victims included three women — two were stabbed in the neck — and a man, all of whom are expected to survive, Montgomery County Police Assistant Chief Darren Francke told reporters during a Saturday afternoon news conference at the scene. Three were hospitalized with injuries.
The suspect's identity has not been released.
Francke said the man used a 12-inch butcher knife in the stabbings, which started at a popular thrift store in Silver Spring, Maryland, and then continued in the surrounding neighborhood. While the investigation is ongoing, Francke said, detectives don't believe the suspect knew any of the victims. He said the attacks appear "completely random."
"We have witnesses. We are continuing our interviews, but at this point it was an unprovoked attack," he said.
Police received reports around 10:35 a.m. of a stabbing at the thrift store. Almost simultaneously, another caller reported a second stabbing on a nearby street, according to police.
The suspect ran into a wooded area while police started setting up a perimeter. Francke said the man then came out of the woods and "confronted a police cruiser." He said another officer soon arrived on scene, saw the man armed with a knife, gave commands and ultimately opened fire, killing the suspect.
"The officer fired multiple rounds and the subject was stopped from attacking further people," Francke said.
The suspect died at the scene.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said more needs to be done for people who are suffering from mental health issues.
"While we do not know the motive for this attack today, I continue to believe we need to do more to address the markedly increasing mental health crisis in our community," he said in a statement. "We need to find ways to avert these kinds of tragedies from occurring and not put our officers into the difficult and tragic position of determining when it is necessary to take a life. To that end, I will be working with our Department of Health and Human Services, MCPD, our community partners and the County Council to identify and expand crisis support services in Montgomery County."
The Maryland Attorney General's Office is investigating the police shooting, which is standard procedure under state law. That office will turn over the results of its investigation to local prosecutors, who will decide whether the officer could face criminal charges.
Officials said the shooting was captured on body camera and the footage will likely be released in the coming weeks, as well as the names of the officer and suspect.
Francke said the incident was out of character for the otherwise quiet suburban area.
"Montgomery County is a very safe community," he said. "On a Saturday afternoon where folks are having a yard sale and just shopping at a very popular thrift store, we don't expect this. We certainly don't accept it."
The Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General is investigating the shooting.
The IID typically releases the name of the deceased individual and the names of the officers involved in the shooting within 48 hours of the incident unless there is a reason to believe that an officer's safety is at risk, according to the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.
Officers involved in the shooting were wearing body-worn cameras, which recorded what happened, according to state authorities.
That footage should be available to the public within two weeks. A delay in sharing the footage is possible if investigators need more time to complete witness interviews or if there are technical delays caused by the need to shield the identities of civilian witnesses, state authorities said.
Additionally, family members may need extra time to view the video before it is released to the public, according to the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.
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CBS Staff contributed to this article.