Man arrested after 9 people stabbed over 2 days in Seattle’s Chinatown

A man has been arrested in connection with a spate of random stabbings over two days in Seattle, in which nine people were injured – five of them on Friday afternoon, police 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 on 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 were taken to Harborview Medical Centre in Seattle and one victim was treated at the scene and released. A Harborview spokesperson confirmed four victims were at the hospital and said all were in critical 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.