TAUNTON (AP) — Two people were killed and four others wounded in stabbing attacks at a home and a shopping mall in Massachusetts before an off-duty law enforcement officer shot and killed the suspect, authorities said.
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said late Tuesday that Arthur Darosa, 28, of Taunton, crashed a car outside a home in the city, walked inside and stabbed an 80-year-old woman and another woman. The 80-year-old was taken to a hospital, where she later died. The other woman was being treated for life-threatening injuries.
Darosa then drove to the Silver City Galleria mall and crashed a car through the front of a Macy’s store, Quinn said. He assaulted multiple people inside the store before running to a Bertucci’s restaurant and stabbing four people, including a 56-year-old man who later died. An off-duty deputy sheriff intervened at the restaurant and shot Darosa dead, Quinn said.
A motive for the attacks remains under investigation, but state police said they have found no evidence of a connection to terrorism.
“There is no continuing threat to the public,” said Dave Procopio, a state police spokesman.
Taunton is about 40 miles south of Boston.
Silver City Galleria is a regional mall offering 130 specialty stores, sit-down restaurants and a movie theater.