Suspect arrested in at least nine knife attacks in Seattle

A man has been arrested in connection with a series of random knife attacks over two days in Seattle that left one woman and eight men injured – five of them on Friday afternoon, police said.

“This incident appears to have involved an individual committing random attacks over a 38-hour period,” Deputy Police Chief Eric Barden said at the scene on Friday.

Friday afternoon's stabbings occurred in a roughly four-block area in Seattle's Chinatown-International District.

Witnesses provided a description of the suspect and officers found him nearby and took him into custody, police said. A weapon was found near the arrested person and a knife was found in one of the victims, the police said.

Four of the victims, all men, were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and one victim was treated at the scene and released. A hospital spokesman told CBS News Friday evening that two of the victims were in critical condition and a third was in serious condition.

Barden said police believe the person arrested in connection with Friday's knife attacks is the same person involved in at least four other knife attacks that occurred beginning early Thursday. He cited similar descriptions of the suspects and the randomness of the attacks, but added that the investigation is ongoing.

Thursday's stabbings in Chinatown began when a 52-year-old woman was found with multiple stab wounds, police said. On Thursday afternoon, a 32-year-old man was found with multiple stab wounds and around 8 p.m., a 37-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the back, police said.

Then early Friday, police responding to an assault call found a 53-year-old man bleeding profusely from a neck injury. Police followed a trail of blood to a nearby entrance and unsuccessfully used it as a starting point for police dogs to track down a suspect.

“It is my understanding that everyone is alive,” Barden said of the victims Friday afternoon.

According to police, the tenth stabbing on Thursday evening was a cell phone robbery in which someone forced open a vehicle door and tried to stab a 60-year-old man in the chest. The victim fought off the attack and suffered a cut to his hand, police said. It is not clear whether there is a connection to the random attacks, police said.