Mom speaks out after 3 daughters and their friend were stabbed at Massachusetts theater
A Massachusetts mother is speaking out after her three children and their friend were attacked by a man at a movie theater on Saturday.
Lisa Dembowski's three daughters and their friend were stabbed by a man at the AMC Braintree 10 movie theater about at 6 p.m. Speaking to NBC Boston, Dembowski, a high school guidance counselor, opened up about the impact the incident has had on her children.
"The two younger ones I think are just handling it I think a little better. The older one is very protective of them and she is just more worried just in general about them and how they’re going to be doing," the mother told the outlet."I think it’s a pretty sick individual to harm children," she added.Braintree police said a man entered the establishment, passed the ticket counter and went into one of the theaters, according to The Patriot Ledger, part of USA TODAY Network. Inside, he approached four girls, ages 9 to 17.
"Without saying anything and without any warning, he suddenly attacked and stabbed the four young females," the police department's press release said. "The attack appeared to be unprovoked."
Previously: Massachusetts man arrested after stabbing attack in AMC theater, McDonald's injured 6 people
Dembowski said the kids were watching "If" when they were targeted.
"My oldest was leaning over to get something. [The suspect] got her in the back and then my other daughter in the top chest, and then my last daughter across her arm, laughing the whole time and then got their friend and then ran off," she told NBC Boston.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz later identified the man as 26-year-old Jared Ravizza of Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard.The man then ran out of the theater and fled in a vehicle. The girls were taken to Boston hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
AMC responds to the incident
An AMC spokesperson told NBC Boston that employees called law enforcement and rendered aid. The theater planned to ramp up security efforts.
"We are saddened by this senseless act of violence," the spokesperson told the outlet. "We are heartened to learn the victims are recovering, and we are reaching out to their families privately."
USA TODAY reached out to AMC for comment.
Ravizza is tied to several incidents, including death of 70-year-old man: Police
Officials have linked Ravizza to another stabbing at a McDonald's in Plymouth, a town about 27 miles from Braintree. In that incident, two victims, a 21-year-old woman and 29-year-old man, survived and were taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. They were both employees at the restaurants.
Cruz later said surveillance footage shows Ravizza reach through the drive-thru window and stab the man with a large knife. Ravizza then left the drive-thru, parked the Porsche SUV he was driving, entered the restaurant and stabbed the female employee.
State police located and pursued Ravizza's car, which crashed in Sandwich. The man was taken into custody and to the hospital for treatment about 7:15 p.m. Saturday.
Cruz said Ravizza will face multiple charges in Plymouth District Court on Tuesday, including assault with intent to murder and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon stemming from the Plymouth attack. He was reportedly arraigned on Tuesday.
Connecticut State Police also revealed a connection between Ravizza and the death of a 70-year-old man identified as Bruce Feldman. Authorities found the man deceased outside his Deep River home just hours before Ravizza's alleged stabbing attacks in Massachusetts.
"Personal items belonging to Ravizza were located at the scene and witnesses provided a description consistent with that of Ravizza," police said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Braintree, MA movie theater stabbings: Mother speaks out after attack
