A man stabbed four people, two of whom later died, in twin attacks in the Boston area on Tuesday before being fatally shot by police, authorities said.
The suspect, Arthur DaRosa, 28, stabbed two women at a home in Taunton, Massachusetts, and then two at the nearby Silver City Galleria mall. He died at hospital after he was shot by an off-duty law enforcement officer at the shopping center, Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.
“The suspect’s motive remains under investigation but at this point we are aware of no nexus to terrorism,” the Taunton Police Department said in a statement.
The incident began when DaRosa crashed his vehicle in Taunton and then entered a nearby home where he stabbed two women. One of the victims, aged 80, died of her injuries while the other woman was being treated for life threatening injuries at a hospital, authorities said.
DaRosa then drove to Silver City Galleria Mall, where he crashed into the Macy’s department store front door, exited his vehicle and assaulted three people inside the store, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a statement.
He then went to Bertucci’s Italian restaurant at the mall, armed himself with a knife and stabbed two people, including a 56-year-old man who died from the attack, Quinn said.
An off-duty deputy sheriff shot DaRosa once. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, according to Quinn.
“It appears that but for the actions of the deputy sheriff, there may very well have been other victims,” Quinn said.
Witnesses told television station WHDH-TV that they saw people running out of the mall and heard gunfire. The station reported that people in the area, about 40 miles (64 km) south of Boston, saw police officers with guns drawn and that the mall had been evacuated and put on lockdown. {eoa}
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