A suspect was taken into police custody 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. A 21-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man who were stabbed about an hour later at a Plymouth McDonalds were also taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
While the two attacks happened about an hour apart in different towns, it “appears as though the crimes are related,” Braintree Police said in a news release, noting the four girls were stabbed without warning in an AMC Theater around 6 p.m. 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.
About an hour after the first attack, around 7:04 p.m., police were called to a reported stabbing at a McDonald’s in Plymouth, according to a news release from Massachusetts State Police.
State troopers soon located a vehicle matching the description of one driven by the suspect, state police said, but it failed to stop when state troopers tried to pull it over. Massachusetts State Police chased the vehicle, which ended in a crash 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.
The suspect, who has not been identified, is being treated at an area hospital, state police said. The investigation remains “active and ongoing” by state and local police, the release said.
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