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Seattle man faces 5 assault charges in random sidewalk stabbings
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Seattle man faces 5 assault charges in random sidewalk stabbings

SEATTLE (AP) — A 37-year-old Seattle man was charged Thursday with five counts of assault for randomly stabbing five people in broad daylight last week, according to prosecutors.

Roland Jerome Lee is accused of stabbing five people standing on the sidewalk in a roughly four-block area in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. He faces four first-degree assault charges and one fourth-degree assault charge.

Four of the victims were taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition, while one victim was treated and released at the scene. One of the four male patients remains at Harborview and is in stable condition, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said Thursday.

Lee is being held on $2 million bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 27, King County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Casey McNerthney said.

King County Public Defender Department spokesman Will Casey said they have no comment on the case at this time.

Seattle police believe Lee was involved in at least four other stabbings in the same area the day before the five attacks. He matched the suspect’s description, and the attacks were random, like Friday’s attacks.

“Other stabbing cases continue to be investigated by Seattle Police, and King County prosecutors may make additional charging decisions if these cases are referred to our office,” McNerthney said in an email.

Lee has a criminal history with nine felony convictions in Washington state for auto theft, possession of stolen property, robbery and attempted burglary, according to the probable cause report.

Police were called around 2pm last Friday afternoon to reports that four people had been 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 down the street and then stabbed three people standing on the corner.

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

Police said they detained Lee with what appeared to be blood on his hands and shoes. They said they found two knives nearby.

“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 last week.