A 37-year-old man, accused by the police of stabbing five people in Seattle during the day on Friday and possibly four others the day before, made his first court appearance on Saturday.
A judge set his bail at a hefty $2 million. King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion emphasized that everyone who lives in or visits the Chinatown-International District should feel safe.
The judge decided on such a high bail partly because this man already had an outstanding arrest warrant and has nine felony convictions in Washington state, including four for car theft, robbery, attempted burglary, and possession of stolen property.
The investigation is ongoing; according to spokesperson Casey McNerthney, it hasn’t yet been sent to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for charges but is expected to arrive by Thursday.
Attempts to get comments from the King County Department of Public Defense went unanswered on Saturday afternoon.
As for the victims, four were taken to Harborview Medical Center following Friday’s stabbings.
One man initially listed in critical condition has since been upgraded to serious status, while two others remain in serious condition in ICU. Another victim is reported as being stable.
Police found two bloody knives at the scene where they arrested this suspect and discovered a third knife lodged in one victim’s back when he arrived at the hospital.
Authorities suspect this man might also be linked to at least four other stabbings that happened nearby on Thursday—these attacks seemed random too.
The first incident involved a 52-year-old woman with multiple stab wounds; later that afternoon, a 32-year-old man was found after being stabbed several times, followed by another stabbing around 8 p.m., involving a 37-year-old man who was also attacked multiple times.
Then on Friday around 2 p.m., police received multiple calls about four stabbings occurring in Chinatown, with another victim located about a block away according to court documents.
A witness told the police that he saw the suspect sneak up behind a guy and stab him in the back. That poor guy ended up in the hospital with four stab wounds.
The witness decided to follow the suspect, who was just strolling down the street, and watched as he went on to stab three more people standing at a corner.
According to police, video footage also showed him attacking another man before going after that group of three.
In the video, you can see him approach someone from behind and stab him in the back; he fell right down with the knife still stuck in him, according to authorities.
When police arrived, they used descriptions from witnesses to catch the guy. He was wearing a black sweatshirt that said Fear of God State across the front and had what looked like blood on his hands and shoes.
Deputy Chief Eric Barden mentioned at the scene on Friday that this whole ordeal seemed to be one person committing random attacks over a span of 38 hours.