At an Atlanta airport, a man suspected of five deaths with 20 stabbings was arrested. Tel Aviv, Israel is where the man was headed on a flight. As an Israeli citizen, Elias Abuelazam came to the U.S. legally. The 20 incidents showed up as follows: 1 in Ohio, 3 in Virginia and 16 in Michigan. There is a belief that race was part of these crimes considering most of those victimized were African American.
May attacks
In late May, reports started of people being approached by a man, fitting Elias Abuelazam’s explanation, asking for help with a stalled vehicle or for directions. The man would pull a knife, stab the victims and leave them for dead. ABC reports that police thought Elias Abuelazam was the stabber considering he was arrested for simple assault most recently. To identify the killer, law officials from Michigan, Virginia and Ohio all started working together with the public to get an ID.
Race a part of the killings
Male African Americans were how the majority of the victims looked leading police to believe race was a part of the motive. The majority of the search was in Flint, Michigan which is where 16 of these stabbings happened. Three other stabbings took place in Leesburg, Va., and one took place in Toledo, Ohio. The stabbings caused a Flint judge to issue a warrant for the arrest of this man. He was boarding a flight for Tel Aviv, Israel when the Michigan police found him in Atlanta International Airport because of a tip. A page for him was issued over the intercom, and police took him into custody without incident.
Nevertheless hasn’t been convicted of crimes
Right now, he is innocent as he hasn’t been seen in court yet, although it is fairly clear that he is likely to be the perpetrator. Michigan, where the five fatalities occurred, is not a death penalty state, so he isn’t really likely to be sentenced to death if convicted.
ABC News
abcnews.go.com/US/TheLaw/serial-stabber-suspect-identified-elias-abuelazam-federal-officals/story?id=11382102 and amp;page=1
