Officials have arrested a homeless man suspected of stabbing nearly a dozen people and critically injuring two of them while riding a bicycle in Albuquerque, New Mexico over the weekend.
The suspect, identified as 42-year-old Tobias Gutierrez, has been arrested on charges of felony including burglary, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a controlled substance, police said.
He was spotted by police officials on a BMX bike with a large knife and was taken into custody without incident.
The arrested man has a criminal history. He was held for drug possession and driving while intoxicated in the past, but was released from federal custody in 2020.
According to the criminal complaint, the stabbings were seemingly committed at random within hours along Central Avenue.
Mr Gutierrez is accused of asking a victim for money and yelling obscenities before pulling out a knife and using it at a crime scene near a smoke shop. Another crime scene included a homeless encampment.
Police spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said there does not seem to be “any rhyme or reason” to the 11 stabbings.
The attacks began at around 11.15am on Sunday when a man was found suffering a laceration to his hand at a crime scene by police officers downtown. In another call about an hour later, the police were alerted to a stabbing outside a smoke shop near the University of New Mexico just a couple of miles away.
Over the next two hours, police officers were told of two more stabbings along Central Avenue, followed by another call at 2pm where a man was reportedly stabbing people outside a convenience store.
On reaching the spot, police found two victims who sustained neck wounds.
Two more calls came in in the next 20 minutes, followed by the final call where a person was stabbed outside a restaurant along another busy street less than a mile away.
The attacker was identified as a man on a bike armed with a large knife by the witnesses. They said the man appeared to be upset.
He was arrested after an officer saw a suspect who matched the description and watched him toss something into a trash can before the officer stopped him, the criminal complaint said.
Police issued a search warrant and a knife was found on the man.
The victims of the stabbing were rushed to different hospitals, out of which two have suffered critical injuries, while the rest have been hospitalised and are in a stable condition.
Some of the victims were treated for their injuries and released.
The suspect was previously charged for entering a tribal casino north of Albuquerque while armed with a revolver and ammunition.
He was also accused of stabbing his mother’s husband last September after domestic altercations but no charges were filed against him.
