Massachusetts man charged in two stabbings over Memorial Day weekend

A Massachusetts man has been charged in connection with the stabbing of two people at a Plymouth-area rest stop that left a man and a woman hospitalized, authorities said.

Jared Ravizza, 26, of Martha’s Vineyard, was charged Sunday by the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. Saturday’s attacks followed an incident about an hour earlier at a movie theater in Braintree, Massachusetts, that left four girls aged 9 to 17 injured. Three of the victims were sisters.

Authorities said evidence indicated Ravizza may have been behind the stabbings in the movie theater, but he had not been charged in connection with the attacks as of Monday.

Ravizza, who was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said authorities received several 911 calls Saturday evening about an attack at a McDonald’s restaurant at a rest stop, where surveillance footage showed Ravizza reaching through the window driving by and stabbing the male victim with a large knife.

Ravizza then parked his black Porsche Macan and entered the McDonald’s, where he stabbed the victim before fleeing the rest area.

As police responded to the stabbings, they learned that an alert had been issued for Ravizza’s arrest in connection with the stabbing of the girls at the movie theater, authorities said.

Ravizza was arrested around 7:15 p.m. in Sandwich, Massachusetts, police said.

He was charged with assault with intent to kill and two counts of battery with a dangerous weapon, the prosecutor’s office said.

NBC News affiliate NBC10 Boston reported that Lisa Dembowski, the mother of three of the girls stabbed at the Braintree Theater, said they were sitting watching the movie “If” when they were attacked.

“My oldest was bending over to get something,” she said. “He put her in the back, then my other daughter in the upper chest, then my last daughter on his arm, laughing the whole time, then grabbed their friend and then ran away.”

She said the girls are expected to recover physically but remain shaken.

“I think the younger two are doing a little better, I think,” Dembowski said. “The older one is very protective of them, and she’s just more worried in general about them and how they’re going to get through this.”