Three Dead In Home & Mall Stabbing Rampage In Massachusetts
Three people were dead Tuesday night after a tragic stabbing rampage. Shoppers at a Massachusetts shopping mall were stunned when a man crashed his vehicle into a store where they were shopping and then proceeded to start stabbing people. According to a report by The Hill, by the end of the tragic ordeal, three were dead. It all began shortly before at a nearby home in Taunton, Massachusetts, about 40 miles south of Boston. The man stabbed two people in the home, then got into his car and drove it right into a Silver City Galleria Mall storefront.
The suspect, identified as 28-year old Arthur DaRosa, crashed his black Honda Accord into the entrance of a Macy’s store, alarming shoppers, before he got out of his car and assaulted several people. The Boston CBS affiliate reported that he then walked into a Bertucci’s restaurant inside the mall and began stabbing multiple people. One of them was a 56-year-old man who was taken to the hospital but pronounced dead. According to witnesses, one of the victims who was attacked at the mall was pregnant. It’s unclear what her condition is at this time.
Before the attacks at the mall began, DaRosa allegedly began stabbing two women at a home about three miles from the mall. One of the victims at the home was an 80-year-old woman. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. The other woman remains at the hospital with life-threatening stab wounds. Neighbors said they heard a loud crash and saw a knife-wielding man leaving. A red Ford Ranger with damages was towed from the scene, and witnesses said the suspect crashed into a vehicle in front of the home. Fox News reported that it’s possible he was involved in a car accident prior to arriving at Macy’s.
“They just looked like they were panicking, they were running to the car and I heard one of the little girls say ‘unlock it, unlock the car, let’s go, let’s go!'”
almost just walked right into a shooting and stabing at the taunton mall good thing i was smokin a blunt walkin in pic.twitter.com/mvdPrxV5k1
— mAce (@alexcmace) May 10, 2016
The first officers to arrive at the scene asked the witnesses what they knew and then raced into the mall. One of them, Alex Mace, then said he heard about five gunshots from inside. The stabbing rampage came to a halt when DaRosa was taken down by an off-duty police officer who was on the scene. The officer, an off-duty Plymouth County Sheriff’s deputy, shot the suspect dead inside the restaurant, leaving a total of three people dead. The New York Daily News said that one witness reported he heard shots and saw police officers loading AR-15s. Taunton’s mayor, Thomas Hoye, gave a statement later in the night.
“Tragedy certainly hit the city of Taunton hard here this evening. Certainly our heartfelt prayers go out to all of the victims of this senseless tragedy. I’d like to thank the off-duty sheriff for if it wasn’t for his heroic actions there could have been more loss of life.”
DEVELOPING: Multiple crime scenes reported at the Silver City Galleria mall in Taunton, Massachusetts. pic.twitter.com/Jkil6cw6gS
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 11, 2016
A total of four people were stabbed and one, the suspect, shot, leaving a total of three people dead. State Police have said the motive remains unclear, according to a report by the Boston Globe, but that they’re unaware of any links to terrorism at this point, although the investigation continues. There is no threat to the public, they reassured.
[Photo by Larry W. Smith/Getty Images]
