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Chantal Da Silva

Mon, February 14, 2022, 5:03 AM

Police in Albuquerque arrested a man suspected of stabbing 11 people on Sunday in a string of attacks believed to have been carried out across the city on a BMX-style bike, authorities said.

In a statement posted to Twitter Sunday, The Albuquerque Police Department said officers were investigating "several stabbing incidents" in the city and in Wyoming.

It said officers had identified at least seven possible scenes stretching from the city's downtown to central areas, with at least one site in Wyoming.

"The lone suspect is in custody," the department said, with the suspect yet to be identified.

During a press conference, police said officers had first responded to a report of a stabbing downtown at around 11 a.m. local time (12 p.m. ET) Sunday, according to local NBC affiliate KOB.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said it had not yet been confirmed that the first scene was connected to the string of attacks, but police believe it was.

Shortly after that incident, Gallegos said police responded to a succession of other stabbing reports across the city, with the same man believed to be behind the attacks.

Gallegos said the stabbings appeared to have been carried out at random.

He said the suspect was reported to be riding a BMX-style bike and to have carried out the attacks with a large knife.

Among the victims was someone who was attacked while enjoying a meal with their family inside a restaurant, Gallegos said. Another victim was someone who had just been involved in a car crash, he said.

All of the victims were in stable condition as of Sunday evening, police said in a tweet.

Albuquerque police have urged anyone with information on the incident to come forward.

“It has been a task for us to really just piece everything together since it was over a period of time and involved several scenes,” Gallegos said.