LAS VEGAS (AP) — An attacker accused of killing two people and wounding six others with a big kitchen knife in stabbings along the Las Vegas Strip is predicted in court Friday.
Yoni Barrios, 32, is scheduled to make an initial appearance within the afternoon, in accordance with the Clark County District Attorney’s Office. It wasn’t immediately known whether Barrios had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.
He’s being held within the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of murder and 6 counts of attempted murder, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in an announcement.
Three people were hospitalized in critical condition and one other three were in stable condition, in accordance with Las Vegas police, who said they began receiving 911 calls concerning the stabbings around 11:40 a.m. Thursday across the road from the Wynn casino and hotel.
Barrios, who shouldn’t be a Las Vegas resident, was detained by Sands security guards and Metropolitan Law enforcement officials while running on a Strip sidewalk, police said.
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“This was an isolated incident,” Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief James LaRochelle said in an announcement. “All evidence indicates Barrios acted alone and there are not any outstanding suspects at the moment.”
Police said they were continuing to analyze the motive but don’t consider there was an altercation before the attacks.
The Clark County coroner’s office identified the victims who were killed as Brent Allan Hallett, 47, and Maris Mareen Digiovanni, 30, each Las Vegas residents.
The names of those wounded within the attack weren’t immediately released.
The initial stabbing was unprovoked and on the eastern sidewalk of Las Vegas Boulevard. The suspect then headed south and stabbed others, LaRochelle said.
The person fled and was followed by 911 callers before he was taken into custody, authorities said. Police recovered the “large knife with an extended blade” believed to have been used, LaRochelle said, calling the case a “hard-to-comprehend murder investigation.”
Dewaun Turner, 47, a porter at The District at Resorts World, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he was walking home when he saw two people dressed as showgirls in red dresses and heels fleeing from a person with a knife. He saw one slip near an escalator to a pedestrian bridge in front of Wynn Las Vegas. The person stabbed her, jumped up and stabbed the opposite, then ran south toward the Palazzo, Turner said. The person with the knife didn’t say anything, he said.
Turner said he then saw the person stab a person who was walking with a girl, then stab two more women, Turner said.
One in all the pair dressed as showgirls was bleeding profusely and wasn’t making a sound as the opposite applied pressure to her companion’s wounds, he said.
“Ten or 15 steps ahead and I might’ve been certainly one of the people stabbed,” Turner said.
There have been no other suspects within the case and “the Strip is secure,” Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said.
“Locals and tourists are the victims of this crime,” Lombardo said.
Witnesses told Las Vegas TV stations that a few of the victims gave the impression to be showgirls or street performers who take pictures with tourists on the Strip.
The suspect told a girl that he was a chef who desired to take an image with a few of the showgirls along with his knife, but he began stabbing people when the group declined the person’s offer, the girl told KTNV.
Jason Adams told KLAS that he witnessed the attack on a showgirl.
“This guy got here, ran up, and commenced stabbing this lady in front of me and she or he ran across the escalators and she or he tried to stand up under the bridge and her girlfriend was attempting to help her,” Adams said, adding that the attack happened in a short time.
Pierre Fandrich, a tourist from Canada, told KTNV that he didn’t see the stabbing suspect as he was walking along the Strip. But he said he thought he heard “three or 4 showgirls laughing,” and it turned out to be screaming.
Fandrich said he saw “numerous blood” as one woman ran across a bridge, one was on the bottom, and one other had a stab wound on her back as she tried to assist the fallen woman.
Fandrich also told KTNV that he thought certainly one of the victims fell from the bridge because there was a lot blood on the bottom.
Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak posted a message on social media saying, “Our hearts are with all those affected by this tragedy.”
“On the State level, we are going to proceed to work with partners in law enforcement to make resources available on the bottom and make sure the Las Vegas Strip stays a secure and welcoming place for all to go to,” Sisolak said.
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