Suspect arrested in string of at least 10 stabbing attacks in Seattle
A man has been arrested in connection with a spate of random stabbings over two days in Seattle, in which a woman and nine men were injured — five of them on Friday afternoon, police said.
Suspect Roland J. Lee appeared in court on Saturday to face at least five counts of assault in the first degree, the King County Prosecutor's Attorney Office said. The court set bail at $2 million.
"People who live in and travel to the Chinatown-International District deserve to feel safe and be safe, and the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office will continue to do its part to bring necessary accountability," King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said.
"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.
The stabbings on Friday afternoon took place in a roughly four-block area in Seattle's Chinatown-International District.
Witnesses reported a description of the suspect and officers found him nearby and took him into custody, police said. A weapon was found near the person who was arrested, and a knife was lodged in one of the victims, police said.
Four of the victims, all males, 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 that the person arrested in connection with Friday's stabbings is the same person involved with at least four other stabbings that happened starting early Thursday. He cited similar suspect descriptions and the randomness of the attacks, but added that the investigation is ongoing.
The Thursday stabbings in Chinatown started when a 52-year-old woman was found with multiple stab wounds, police said. On Thursday afternoon, a 32-year-old man was found after being stabbed multiple times and at about 8 p.m. a 37-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the back, police said.
Then early on Friday, police responding to an assault call found a 53-year-old man bleeding heavily from a neck injury. Police followed a blood trail to a nearby doorway and unsuccessfully used that as a starting point for police dogs to try and track a suspect.
"It is my understanding that everyone is alive," Barden said of the victims on Friday afternoon.
Police said a 10th stabbing on Thursday night involved a cellphone robbery in which someone forcibly opened a vehicle door and tried to stab a 60-year-old man in the chest. The victim blocked the assault and was cut on his hand, police said.
