(Reuters) – Police arrested a man suspected of stabbing five people on the streets of downtown Seattle on Friday, and police said they believe he may be the same person responsible for five other stabbings in the same Chinatown area early on Thursday morning.

Deputy Chief Eric Barden told reporters at the scene that the unidentified perpetrator targeted victims at random, stealing only one victim’s cell phone.

Barden said there was a single victim in each stabbing, and nine out of 10 targets were men. Injuries ranged from minor cuts to serious stab wounds; Four of Friday’s victims were hospitalized.

“This is a terrible tragedy, a mass casualty event,” Barden said.

Arresting officers found a gun near the suspect, and a knife was also found in the body of one of the victims.

Some of the victims visually identified the suspect after he was arrested, Barden said.

Random stabbings are rare in the United States, where mass shootings are more common.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Leslie Adler)