ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Ann Arbor Police Department is investigating three separate violent incidents involving a knife, all happening within one week of each other and their potential to be connected.
The first incident took place last Wednesday afternoon near North Ingalls and Ann Street at approximately 4:10 p.m.. Two males were walking down the street when they bumped into each other.
The suspect then followed the victim, spat on him and brandished a pocket knife. The victim fled. The suspect was described to be a Black male, 6 feet tall and approximately 20 years of age with a thin build and short curly hair.
University of Michigan student Nicholas Gamota lives just steps from where it happened.
“I originally heard about it from a group chat I’m in. Everyone was spreading the news making sure everyone knows about it because obviously, it’s a big safety concern," he said.
The second incident happened last Monday at the Target on S. State Street at approximately 8:40 p.m. Once again, the altercation began with a bump between two males as they were entering the store.
A verbal altercation occurred and the suspect brandished a folded pocket knife and placed it against the victim’s throat. The victim pushed the suspect away, and the suspect exposed the blade. The suspect has the same description as the one in the first incident.
“And that was a very scary one because that’s escalated from the first event and it was inside the Target," Gamota said. "I go to that Target.”
The third incident happened this Wednesday morning around 8 a.m. on board an Ann Arbor city bus. There was common theme: an altercation began when a suspect bumped into someone and an argument ensued.
A 25-year-old woman who was not involved in the altercation tried calming the suspect down but was slashed with a pocket knife in her chest twice.
A 21-year-old suspect, who has no affiliation to the University of Michigan, fled from the bus but was taken into custody by Ann Arbor police a short time later. He had the same description as the suspect described in the previous knife-wielding events.
The woman, who is not a student at the University of Michigan, was transported to a hospital and is doing OK. However, the week-long spree of violence near campus has left the Ann Arbor community shaken up.
“I feel like this campus is usually pretty good about safety, but not in this scenario," Michigan student Lizzy Rose said.
The Ann Arbor Police Department says their investigation continues and they will test DNA from the saliva from the incident last week where the suspect spat on the victim and compare it to the man who was arrested Wednesday.
