4 girls injured in knife attack at AMC cinema near Boston; suspect arrested

BRAINTREE – A male suspect has been arrested in connection with a stabbing that left four girls injured at an AMC movie theater south of Boston on Saturday, authorities said. CBS Boston has learned the same suspect may be responsible for a similar incident that may have occurred at a McDonald’s restaurant in Plymouth.

A man stabbed four girls to death in a movie theater at an AMC multiplex in Braintree around 6 p.m. local time, Braintree police reported. Braintree is about 12 miles south of Boston.

According to police, the man entered the cinema without a ticket, went into a movie theater and then attacked the four girls, aged 9 to 17, for no reason. The girls were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The suspect fled the scene in a black SUV, but police were able to use video footage to track down his license plate and locate him in Plymouth after he allegedly took part in a “similar attack” there, police said. CBS Boston learned the second possible attack may have taken place at a McDonald’s restaurant, but details were unclear. Police said it appeared the “crimes were related.”

The suspect led Massachusetts State Police on a chase before causing an accident in the town of Sandwich, south of Plymouth. He was arrested.

Sources told CBS Boston that the suspect is also believed to be connected to a murder investigation in Deep River, Connecticut. Connecticut police had already issued a complaint for him on Saturday, describing him as armed and dangerous, possibly armed with a 10-inch knife, sources said.

The suspect’s name and charges against him were not immediately released.