By MARTHA BELLISLE
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A 37-year-old man who stabbed five people in broad daylight in Seattle on Friday and possibly four more the day before, police said, made his first court appearance Saturday, when a judge ordered him held on $2 million bail.

“People who live in and travel to the Chinatown-International District deserve to feel safe and be safe,” King County Attorney Leesa Manion said after the judge found probable cause to arrest him on five counts of first-degree assault.

While determining the high bail amount, the judge noted that an arrest warrant had been issued for the man. He also has nine felony convictions in Washington state, including four counts of auto theft, possession of stolen property, robbery and attempted burglary, according to the probable cause report.

The case remains under investigation and has not been referred to the King County Prosecutor’s Office for a charging decision, spokesman Casey McNerthney said Saturday. He said they expect to receive the case by Thursday.

Messages sent to the King County Public Defender Department seeking comment were not immediately responded to Saturday afternoon.

Four of the five victims were taken to Harborview Medical Center on Friday. Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said Saturday that one person in critical condition has become serious, while two others remain in the intensive care unit. He said the condition of another male patient was satisfactory.

Police said they found two blood-soaked knives in the parking lot where the man was arrested. By the time he was taken to the hospital, a third stab was lodged in the victim’s back, according to court records.

Seattle police said they believe the man was also involved in at least four stabbings in the same area on Thursday. He matched the suspect’s description, and the attacks were random, like Friday’s attacks. It was stated that the police continue to investigate the incident and other charges may be added.

The stabbings in Chinatown on Thursday began when a 52-year-old woman was found with multiple stab wounds, police said. Police said a 32-year-old man was found Thursday afternoon after being stabbed multiple times, and around 8 p.m., a 37-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the back.

Around 2 p.m. Friday afternoon, police received a 911 report of four people being stabbed in Chinatown. Another victim was found a block away, the probable cause affidavit said.

An eyewitness told police he saw the suspect walk up behind a man and stab him in the back. This man was taken to hospital with four stab wounds. The witness said he followed the suspect as he walked calmly down the street and then stabbed three people standing on the corner.

Police officers take a statement from a nearby business owner after multiple stabbings in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Police said video evidence showed the suspect also stabbed another man before attacking the group of three men. In the video, the suspect is seen walking behind a person and stabbing him in the back. Police said the man fell to the ground with a knife lodged in his back.

Police arrived and used eyewitness statements to take the man into custody. Police said the man was wearing a black sweatshirt with “Fear of God State” written across the chest. Police said he had what appeared to be blood on his hands and shoes.

“This incident was apparently a case of one individual carrying out random attacks over the course of 38 hours,” Deputy Chief Eric Barden said at the scene Friday.

Police officers stand near the scene while collecting surveillance footage following the stabbing of multiple people in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Relating to