Massachusetts AMC stabbing suspect 'was laughing the whole time' during unprovoked attack, victims' mother says

BRAINTREE – The suspect who allegedly stabbed four girls at an AMC movie theater in Massachusetts Saturday evening, “we laughed all the time,” said the mother of three of the victims.

Four girls, ages 9 to 17, were stabbed Saturday inside the Braintree AMC theater around 6 p.m. They were all hospitalized, but are expected to survive.

The suspect “laughed all the time”

Lisa Dembowski is the mother of three of the stabbed girls. She was not there at the time of the incident, but said the group had just arrived for a screening of “IF” and the girls were the only four people in the room.

“They were just sitting down, they were just getting their concessions. I guess he came behind them, they were like in the second row. He came behind them. My oldest leaned down to get something thing, he put it in the back. My other daughter in the chest. My last daughter on his arm,” Dembowski said. “I laugh all the time. Then [stabbed] their friend and ran away. The two older girls chased him outside, then they realized what was happening.”

An employee described the suspect as wearing “an oversized trench coat, sunglasses and a long blonde wig.” Police said the suspect fled the movie theater in a black SUV, but video footage allowed investigators to obtain a license plate number.

Second stabbing in Plymouth

A second attack was reported around 7pm on Saturday at McDonald's in a Plymouth rest area. A 21-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were hospitalized with stab wounds, but are both expected to survive. It appears the incidents are related, police said.

Massachusetts State Police pursued the SUV until it crashed in Sandwich and a suspect was arrested. According to WBZ-TV's I-Team, the suspect is linked to a murder in Deep River, Connecticut.

Police have not yet released the name of the suspect or the charges against him.

“An individual sick enough to harm children”

Dembowski said the children were traumatized by the incident.

“They never want to go to the movies again,” she said. “Shaken. They're fine physically. The kids are resilient. But I think they're terrified of going to the movies on a Saturday night, and this could happen. Someone could just walk into a movie theater and someone could do that.”

Dembowski praised the actions of first responders and medical personnel. She also said her older daughter acted quickly to keep the younger girls calm in a hectic situation.

“It's happening more and more and it makes parents sick of taking their kids anywhere, or letting them go anywhere without them. That's absolutely how I feel,” Dembowski said, who is a guidance counselor at a school in Massachusetts. “I hope he gets what he deserves. I understand mental health. I'm a counselor. I understand it. I think he's a pretty sick person to hurt children.”