Martha's Vineyard man accused of stabbing held pending competency hearing – Boston 25 News

He is accused of stabbing four girls at a Braintree movie theater and two McDonald's employees at the Route 3 rest stop in Plymouth before crashing his Porsche in Sandwich on Cape Cod on Saturday, prosecutors said .

Also on Tuesday, Ravizza was charged with eight counts of assault in connection with the stabbing of the four girls, aged 9 to 17, at the Braintree cinema on Saturday. Authorities said the attack happened before Ravizza headed south toward Plymouth, where the fast-food workers were stabbed.

“This crime appears completely senseless and random, perpetrated against innocent and completely defenseless children,” Braintree Police Chief Timothy Cohoon said in a statement. “We would like to draw attention to the courage shown by these four young women, both in the aftermath of the incident and during their recovery. Each victim improves and heals, and our thoughts and support are with them as they go through this difficult time.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning in Plymouth District Court, flanked by two court officers with their arms at either side and wearing a green prison shirt, blond-haired Ravizza stared blankly in front of the judge as a prosecutor explained the reasons for the accusations against him.

'Terrified': Mother of girls stabbed at Braintree theater says suspect was laughing during attack

Around 7 p.m. Saturday, Ravizza entered the McDonald's drive-thru in a black Porsche, prosecutors said, citing information provided by investigators who spoke with witnesses and reviewed surveillance video.

“He then briefly got out of the vehicle and urinated in public,” prosecutor David Cuthshall said. “When he got up through the drive-thru window, he got into an argument with a male employee.”

Ravizza then allegedly “threw himself out of the window of his vehicle and stabbed the employee in the forearm with what appeared to be a long kitchen knife,” Cuthshall said. “He then parked his vehicle, entered the store and went behind the counter where he stabbed a female employee in the back of the left arm.”

The prosecutor said Ravizza then parked his car, entered the McDonald's and went behind the counter. Ravizza then allegedly stabbed a female employee in the back of the left arm. Both workers were taken to hospital and are in stable condition.

Ravizza was apprehended following a police pursuit in the Cape Cod town of Sandwich. Ravizza crashed and the car was engulfed in flames, the prosecutor said.

In Braintree, police said a person entered the AMC Braintree 10 in South Boston around 6 p.m. Saturday and went to one of the theaters without paying.

The girls were inside the theater when the individual suddenly attacked them “without saying anything and without any warning” before running away, Braintree police said in a news release. All four girls were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Video footage showed the suspect's vehicle and a license plate, and that information was released to law enforcement, police said.

A vehicle matching this description was later seen in Plymouth, approximately 45 kilometers south of Braintree. Police said she left the McDonald's, where the 21-year-old woman and 29-year-old man were stabbed.

Ravizza was arrested in April in Martha's Vineyard and charged with battery on a member of family or household, as well as vandalism, after allegedly attacking their father, according to court records.

Ravizza's father told officers that Ravizza “just had a mental breakdown and attacked him” inside his home, according to the police report. Email and phone messages seeking comment were left with Ravizza's father Tuesday.

Ravizza was ordered held without bail pending a twenty-day mental health evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital.

He is due back in court for a dangerousness hearing on June 17.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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