Seattle — A man stabbed five people in Seattle in broad daylight Friday and four others the day before, police said. He made his first court appearance Saturday, where a judge set him on $2 million bail.
“People who live and travel in the Chinatown International District deserve to feel safe,” King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion said after a judge found grounds to hold him in custody on five counts of first-degree assault.
In setting the high bail, the judge noted that the man had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. He also has nine felony convictions in Washington state, including four counts of grand theft auto, possession of stolen property, burglary and attempted theft, according to the probable cause report.
The case remains under investigation and has not been referred to the King County Prosecutor’s Office for a charging decision, spokeswoman Casey McNusney said Saturday. They expect to receive cases by Thursday, he said.
A message sent to the King County Department of Defense seeking comment was not immediately returned Saturday afternoon.
Four of the five victims were taken to Harborview Medical Center on Friday. Intensive care spokeswoman Susan Gregg said Saturday that one man’s condition had been upgraded to critical and two others remained in critical condition in intensive care. Another male patient was in satisfactory condition, she said.
Police said they found two bloody knives in the parking lot where the man was arrested. Court records say a third knife was lodged in the victim’s back when he was taken to the hospital.
Seattle police said they believe the man was involved in at least four other stabbing incidents in the same area on Thursday. He matched the suspect’s description, and the attack, like Friday’s assault, was random. Police said they are continuing to investigate the incident and that additional charges may be filed.
Thursday’s stabbing incident 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 stabbed multiple times, and around 8 p.m., a 37-year-old man was found stabbed multiple times in the back, police said.
Around 2 p.m. Friday, police received a 911 call reporting that four people had been stabbed in Chinatown. Another victim was found a block away, the probable cause statement states.
A witness told police he saw the suspect walk up behind a man and stab him in the back. The man was admitted to hospital with four stab wounds. Witnesses said they followed the suspect as he calmly walked down the street and stabbed three people standing on a corner.
Police said there was also video evidence showing the suspect stabbing another man before attacking the group of three. The video shows the suspect walking behind a person and stabbing him in the back. He fell to the ground with the knife still in his back, police said.
Police arrived and arrested the man based on the witness’ description. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with “Fear of God State” written on the chest, police said. Police said there was blood on his hands and shoes.
“This appears to be a random assault by one individual over a 38-hour period,” Deputy Chief Eric Baden said at the scene Friday.
