Four people stabbed in ‘random’ attack in Montgomery County, Maryland
By Raja Razek and Zoe Sottile, CNN
(CNN) — A man stabbed four people Saturday morning in Montgomery County, Maryland, before a police officer fatally shot him.
The four victims are expected to survive, according to local police. Authorities said they believed the stabbing incident was a “random” act.
“We have total of four stabbing victims,” Darren Francke, assistant chief for the Montgomery County Police said in a Saturday news conference. “Three women, one male. Two of the women were stabbed in the neck.”
Police first received a call about one of the stabbings at a thrift store in Aspen Hill at 10:36 a.m.
“Officers responded and simultaneously received another call for a stabbing … in the 4100 block of Colie Drive – two women were stabbed there,” Francke said.
Officers responding to the call about the two women also discovered an adult male with “superficial injuries,” according to a news release from the police department.
Police set up a perimeter to search for the suspect. They were told the suspect “was heading into the woods.”
“Officers attempted to encircle the woods,” Francke said. “The subject came out onto the sidewalk and confronted a police cruiser. That officer called out and advised that he had the suspect.”
“Another officer arrived on scene, saw the suspect, saw that he was armed with a 12-inch butcher knife, gave commands to the subject,” he went on. “Unfortunately, an officer-involved shooting occurred.”
The news release said the suspect “lunged towards the officer.”
Multiple rounds were fired by the officer, according to Francke, and the “subject was stopped from attacking further people.”
The suspect died at the scene and authorities are investigating the stabbings and the officer-involved shooting.
Although one of the stabbing victims had significant, life-threatening injuries, authorities said they had been advised by the hospital “at this point, they believe” all the stabbing victims will survive.
Aspen Hill, an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, is located 6 miles north of Washington, DC.
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