COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – A man is in custody after going on a stabbing spree around downtown Colorado Springs early Monday morning.
In the span of about half an hour, police say the attacker stabbed eight people in multiple locations along trails near I-25. He was reportedly taken into custody when some of his victims were able to turn the tables and hold him until officers arrived.
Police were first called to the Midland Trail near 8th Street and Cimarron around 1:30 a.m.
“Officers and medical personnel respond there. … The two victims stated that they were attacked and then [the suspect] ran off down the trail,” CSPD Sgt. Shawn Peterson told 11 News.
Officers split up, with some remaining at the scene to assist the victims and others continuing along the Midland Trail to the Pikes Peak Greenway to find the assailant.
“As we proceeded along the trail, we found several other people that the suspect came in contact with and had also assaulted. We ended up getting another call for service or several other calls for service with regards to injured victims. Several were at America the Beautiful Park that also runs along that [Pikes Peak Greenway]. We then proceeded to that location and were getting medical to all the victims there,” Peterson said.
Officers continued searching the area, trying to capture the suspect before he could hurt anyone else.
“Everywhere he was going, he was trying to come in contact with people and he was injuring them,” Peterson said.
Peterson told 11 News the victims were as cooperative as they could be but weren’t sure exactly which way their attacker went.
“We were scouring the downtown area to include the parks and the trails looking for the suspect. It wasn’t until some citizens who were dealing with the victims were able to give us a lot more detail where we were able to locate where the suspect was en route to, and we were able to stop him from hurting anybody else.”
Police received a call just after 2 a.m. regarding two additional stabbing victims in the area of Tejon and Boulder, which is where they found and arrested the suspect.
All of the victims survived and were taken to local hospitals. They have not been identified, but Peterson tells 11 News most were men. At least one victim was a woman.
The suspect has also not been identified at the time of this writing. Police believe he was working alone.
“There doesn’t appear to be any accomplices. There appears to be one sole individual doing this,” Peterson said.
Officers say they believe the suspect would have continued stabbing people if he hadn’t been captured, and praised those who helped police find him.
“I’d really like to thank all the public for assisting us in help catching him, along with medical and FD. Their quick response really helped these victims and also helped police try to locate the suspect,” Peterson said.
#UPDATE: @CSPDPIO says the man stabbed 8 people who were all taken to the hospital. Officers didn’t know how badly those people were hurt. The stabbings started near 8th & Cimarron and ended near Tejon & Boulder downtown @KKTV11News https://t.co/BG28ov3siK
— Jenna Middaugh (@JennaMiddaugh) January 13, 2020