Bystanders jumped into action to restrain a man who stabbed two strangers and tried to stab another Monday night, according to police in Arlington, Virginia.
The stabbings happened about 9:30 p.m. in the Crystal City area, south of the Metro station but north of Reagan National Airport.
According to a preliminary investigation, police say a man was removing items from a vehicle in the 2100 block of S. Clark Street when the suspect approached and tried to stab him before the victim was able to run away.
Police say the suspect then went a few blocks away, to the 400 block of 23rd Street S., where he approached a second victim while showing him a knife. The two struggled, and the victim received a laceration.
Other people in the area intervened and held the suspect until offers arrived and arrested him.
While checking the area, officers found a third victim who also had a laceration. Police didn’t immediately provide information about what happened in that incident or where exactly it happened.
The second and third victims, both men, were taken to a hospital for treatment. Their injuries were not life-threatening, police said.
Officers found two folding knives at the scene, police said.
Police say the suspect is 48-year-old David Lamont Bates of Arlington. He is charged with two counts of malicious wounding and attempted malicious wounding. It wasn’t immediately clear if he has an attorney.
