Multiple Passengers Stabbed On Amtrak Train In Southwest Michigan
NILES, Mich (AP/WWJ) -- A man wielding a knife stabbed four people aboard a passenger train Friday, including an Amtrak employee, police said.
The suspect was in custody Friday night and police said all four wounded people were taken to hospitals with varying degrees of injuries. Police were still trying to figure out what motivated the attack.
UPDATE 12/6: Accused Amtrak Stabber Charged With Attempted Murder; Bail Set At $1 Million
The train was traveling from Chicago to Port Huron, Michigan, and the attack happened at Niles, Michigan, about 100 miles east of Chicago.
Passenger Caitlin Cipri told the South Bend Tribune in Indiana that she was packing her things to get off the train when she heard screaming. She initially thought the suspect was punching a passenger until she saw the butt of a knife. Cipri said she then saw the man stab two other people.
"It was terrifying and you don't think something like that is going to happen to you," Cipri said. "It's terrifying that things like this happen."
Niles Police Chief Jim Millin said police dispatch received a call from the train around 7 p.m. from someone reporting a suspicious person. When police arrived at the Niles train station, the attack was already underway, Millin said. Police stormed the train and used a Taser on the suspect before taking him into custody.
Police say the 44-year-old suspect is from Saginaw, Michigan.
Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods said the Amtrak Police Department is helping Niles city police with its investigation. She said the company arranged alternate transportation for 172 passengers.
Chris Maynard was on the train when the incident happened, but was one car away. Maynard said that the train pulled into the station and he saw police outside.
Before he knew it, people were running into his car screaming about stabbings.
"All of the sudden, people started rushing into my car -- five or six people," Maynard said. "I thought someone had robbed some of the other cars and they were running away, but then I saw the police run into the car and the next thing I knew a just heard a taser go off and they just tased this guy."
Maynard said that if it weren't for the police being on scene, he doesn't know how many people would have been stabbed.
"It's pretty terrifying thinking that it was one car away," Maynard said. "If the police weren't here, there's no telling how many people he could have stabbed."
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