Mugshot Yoni Barrios
Yoni Barrios was named as the man accused in the mass stabbing spree along the Las Vegas strip.
According to Fox News, Barrios is an undocumented immigrant who has a criminal history in California. He is a Guatemalan national.
According to the Associated Press, Barrios said he “let the anger out” when some people laughed at him.
The violent, and apparently random, stabbing spree left two Las Vegas residents, Brent Allan Hallett and Maris Mareen Digiovanni, dead in the famed Nevada city’s entertainment district.
“The suspect in today’s stabbings on Las Vegas Boulevard has been identified as 32-year-old Yoni Barrios. He has been booked into CCDC on two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon,” Las Vegas police wrote.
Some of those stabbed were Las Vegas showgirls, according to an ABC 13 reporter. The victims included a mix of tourists and Las Vegas residents. Digiovanni was a teacher.
Hallett, 47, and Digiovanni, 30, were both from Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Eight People Were Stabbed During the Spree, Including an Elementary School Teacher
FacebookMaris Digiovanni
Las Vegas police Capt. Dori Koren said in an October 6, 2022, news briefing that there are eight total victims with two people deceased and three in critical condition. The other victims appear stable, he said. A kitchen knife was found at the scene. The suspect is in custody.
One of the victims, Digiovanni, was a married elementary school teacher at 9th Bridge School.
#BREAKING: The suspect in today’s stabbings on Las Vegas Boulevard has been identified as 32-year-old Yoni Barrios. He has been booked into CCDC on two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon.
Koren would not confirm that the victims were showgirls or street performers. Those reports came from local journalists who spoke to witnesses at the scene, and it’s not clear how many of the victims were showgirls.
In a news conference, the sheriff said the victims are a “combination of locals and tourists.” He said the suspect was taken into custody “in a matter of minutes.”
The initial stabbing occurred quickly on the sidewalk area and appeared unprovoked. The suspect then went down the street and stabbed five more victims. He then fled and was followed by concerned citizens. A security guard and police took him into custody. Barrios had only recently come to Las Vegas, sheriff’s officials said.
2. Barrios Had ‘Blood on His Sleeves’ When Arrested, Reports Say
#BREAKING: Clark County coroner’s office identifies two killed in mass stabbing on Las Vegas Strip as:
Brent Allan Hallett, 47
Maris Mareen Digiovanni, 30
KTNV-TV reported that the suspect was arrested in front of Venetian and had “blood on his sleeves.” That station reported, per a witness, that one victim “appeared to have been stabbed in the Fashion Mall and was ‘laying on the ground near the shops.'”
According to a press release from Las Vegas police, the first call about a stabbing with multiple victims came in at 11:42 a.m. on October 6, 2022. The victims were stabbed in front of a casino in the 3100 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard.
One victim died at the scene, and a second died at a hospital. The motive is not clear. The suspect is 32 years old, and police believe that he was acting alone.
3. The Showgirls Were Walking the Strip to Take Photos With Tourists When the Stabbings Occurred
A local journalist tweeted that the stabbings occurred when the showgirls were walking the strip to take photos with tourists.
“I just talked to a tourist from Montreal, he says he saw at least two showgirls stabbed on the Strip. The showgirls walk the Strip to talk photographs with visitors. He shared photo below of one being taken away on a stretcher @KTNV,” tweeted ABC 13 reporter Joe Moeller.
“#BREAKING I’m speaking w/ woman who says 4 injured showgirls work for her. She says the suspect had a knife & claimed he was a chef & wanted to take a picture with the showgirls, when they said no that is when the stabbings started, we are waiting for info from Metro now @KTNV,” he wrote.
Moeller added: “Caution tape is blocking the Strip on the west and north side of Palazzo at this time. Showgirls I talked to say there are a number of locations where the stabbings took place @KTNV.”
4. The Knife Man Stabbed the Showgirls & Then Randomly Attacked Other People Who Were Just Walking Down the Street
Caution tape is blocking the Strip on the west and north side of Palazzo at this time. Showgirls I talked to say there are a number of locations where the stabbings took place @KTNV
Dewaun Turner, 47, witnessed five of the stabbings, and told the Review-Journal that two people dressed as showgirls were running while being chased by a man with a knife. One of them fell and was stabbed. He said the suspect then stabbed a man who was walking with a woman. The suspect then stabbed two other women, Turner told the newspaper.
Barrios is not a Las Vegas resident, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
5. Police Confirmed That Two People ‘Have Passed’
I just talked to a tourist from Montreal, he says he saw at least two showgirls stabbed on the Strip. The showgirls walk the Strip to talk photographs with visitors. He shared photo below of one being taken away on a stretcher @KTNV
Koren said aid was rendered to multiple victims, and the suspect was quickly taken into custody. “Very tragically, two of them have passed,” Koren said of two of the victims.
“The scene is under control,” although part of Las Vegas Boulevard was shut down for investigatory purposes.
There are no more safety concerns, he said. He described the weapon as a “large kitchen knife.”
According to Reuters, the mass stabbing attack occurred in front of a casino along the Vegas Strip.
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