DA identifies man accused of stabbing 4 girls at movie theater, 2 McDonald's workers at rest area (2024)

BRAINTREE, Mass. —

Massachusetts authorities have identified the man accused of stabbing four girls inside a Braintree movie theater and two McDonald's employees who work at a restaurant at a Plymouth rest area.

Jared Ravizza, a 26-year-old resident of the Martha's Vineyard town of Chilmark, was arrested Saturday night and is being treated at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth for non-life-threatening injuries, the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office announced Sunday.

Braintree police said a man came into the AMC Braintree 10 at 121 Grandview Ave. at about 6 p.m. Saturday and proceeded past the ticket counter without paying.

According to police, that man entered one of the theaters and encountered four girls between the ages of 9 and 17.

"Without saying anything and without any warning, he suddenly attacked and stabbed the four young females," reads a statement from the Braintree Police Department. "The attack appeared to be unprovoked. After the attack, the man ran out of the theater and left in a vehicle.

Lisa Dembowski said her three daughters and one of their friends were the victims of the Braintree stabbing.

"I got a call from my sister that my oldest daughter had called her (and) that I needed to get to the AMC movie theater right away because they had been stabbed," Dembowski said. "Honestly, I just got in my car and headed right there."

Dembowski said that when she arrived at the AMC, police officers met her and took her inside to see her daughters.

"The movie theater was still open and people were, like, buying tickets and it was just as if ... it was crazy to me that that was what was still going on," she said.

Dembowski said her daughters then explained what happened to them shortly after they sat down to watch the movie "IF."

"So they were the only four people in this movie theater. They had just sat down. They had just got their concessions," she said. "I guess he came up behind them in the row — they were in the second row — and he came up behind them. My oldest was leaned over to get something. He got her in the back and then my other daughter in the top of the chest. Then, my last daughter across her arm — laughing the whole time — and then got their friend and then ran off."

Braintree police said the girls all suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to Boston area hospitals for treatment.

Dembowski said her daughters were transported to Boston Medical Center due to the nature of their wounds at that they were evaluated by trauma teams. She also said her daughters' friend had already been taken out of the AMC to receive medical treatment by the time she arrived at the movie theater.

Police said video showed the stabbing suspect leave the Braintree area in what appeared to be a black SUV and authorities were able to capture a license plate number from that footage.

Braintree police said the license plate information was shared with police across other parts of Massachusetts and that a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle was involved in a similar assault in Plymouth on Saturday, pursued by Massachusetts State Police troopers and ultimately crashed in Sandwich.

"It appears as though the crimes are related," reads the Braintree Police Department's statement.

Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said multiple stabbing incidents on the South Shore of Massachusetts were allegedly carried out by Ravizza.

Stabbing inside McDonald's at Plymouth rest stop

Massachusetts State Police officials said their department received 911 calls about a stabbing inside the McDonald's restaurant at the Route 3 south service plaza in Plymouth shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday.

Cruz said surveillance video from the McDonald's appears to show Ravizza reach through the drive-thru window and stab an employee, a 28-year-old man, with a large knife.

The video then shows Ravizza leave the drive-thru in a black Porsche, park the car, go inside the McDonald's and then stab a second employee, a 21-year-old woman, according to Cruz.

Ravizza then fled the rest area in the Porsche, the district attorney said.

Cruz said emergency medical personnel transported the 21-year-old woman to South Shore Hospital, and that first responders brought the 28-year-old man to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth. State police said both victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Cruz said a witness who was at the McDonald's reported the license plate number on the suspect's vehicle to state police, and it was determined the Porsche — a black 2018 Macan — was registered to Ravizza.

The district attorney said police also learned a "be on the lookout" alert had been issued for Ravizza's arrest in connection with other incidents.

According to state police, the Plymouth stabbing is likely connected to the stabbing that happened at the AMC in Braintree.

State police said the description of the suspect vehicle helped troopers find the Porsche, which was traveling on a public way in Sandwich.

Troopers tried to pull the Porsche over, but it failed to stop for authorities. Ravizza then crashed the vehicle and was taken into custody shortly thereafter by Sandwich and state police at about 7:15 p.m. Saturday, according to authorities.

Cruz said Ravizza will be arraigned Tuesday in Plymouth District Court on multiple charges, including assault with intent to murder and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Connection to Connecticut homicide

Connecticut State Police were investigating the death of an individual who was discovered at an address in Deep River, a small town about six miles north of the Connecticut coastline.

Police were called to an address that was not disclosed around 3:36 p.m. on Saturday and discovered the body of an individual.

"A suspect in this investigation has been taken into custody in the state of Massachusetts, and there is no active threat to the public," Connecticut State Police said in a news release.