A man in a blonde wig and a trench coat went on a stabbing spree at a Boston movie theater that left four young girls with injuries.
Four girls injured in cinema stabbing
The suspect, Jared Ravizza, assaulted four girls, aged 9 to 17, at an AMC multiplex in Braintree, Massachusetts early Saturday evening.
The knife-wielding suspect reportedly walked into the theater without a ticket and attacked the girls without uttering a word to them.
“Without saying anything and without any warning, he suddenly attacked and stabbed the four young females,” the Braintree police said in statement.
According to CBS News, an employee at the snack bar described the attacker as wearing ‘an oversized trench coat, sunglasses, and a long blonde wig.’
The girls that he targeted unprovoked had just arrived for a screening of “IF” and were the only ones in the theater, according to Lisa Dembowski, the mother of three of the victims.
She said her children and their friend had just went to the concessions stand and sat down in the theater’s second row when Ravizza attacked them.
“My oldest was leaned over to get something, he got her in the back. My other daughter in the chest. My last daughter across her arm,” Dembowski said horrified.
“Then [stabbed] their friend and ran off. The two older girls chased him outside, then they realized what was going on.”
She said that Ravizza was “laughing the whole time” that he was assaulting the girls.
The girls were taken to a Boston hospital and treated for non-critical injuries. Their medical conditions were not made public.
A witness, Matteo Rojas, told CBS, ‘It’s so heartbreaking that’s what I’ll be thinking about the rest of the night is seeing those kids coming down the steps and just crying. They looked really stunned like they just saw a horror movie, not a kid’s movie.’
Ravizza’s stabbing spree wasn’t finished after randomly going after the children. He fled in a black SUV, and drove 30 miles to Plymouth, MA, where he reportedly two more people at a McDonald’s an hour later.
During that incident the suspect allegedly stabbed a 21-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man. They received treatment at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police were able to track down Ravizza quickly, using surveillance footage from the theater to identify his license plate number.
They spotted is SUV somewhere around Sandwich, Massachusetts, and tried to pull Ravizza over, but ended up pursuing him in a car chase until he eventually crashed.
He was taken into custody and treated for minor injuries. While in police custody, Ravizza was connected to a murder in Deep River, Connecticut.
Stabbing on boardwalk prompts warning from Ocean City mayor
In an unrelated incident, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed Saturday on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey.
Law enforcement responded to reports of a fight and found the injured boy, who had been targeted by an unknown assailant. The victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Ocean City Mayor Jay A. Gillian said that their “highly qualified team” of police was patrolling the area and would enforce the “laws to the fullest.”
Gillian said that massive groups of teenagers were involved in shoplifting, fights, and disorderly conduct throughout the weekend.
“I understand the impact that this behavior has on all of our residents, guests, and business owners, and I want to assure everybody that Ocean City will not tolerate it,” he added.
Police are seeking more information regarding the stabbing, but have yet to take a suspect into custody.
“Ocean City will always be welcoming to all guests, but I want to send a clear message to parents and to teens: ‘If you don’t want to behave, don’t come,’” Gillian warned.
