Victims’ mother speaks – NBC Boston

The mother of three girls who were stabbed Saturday at a movie theater with their friend in Braintree, Mass., is speaking out about that horrific night and the “sick” individual who injured them.

The whole experience was a nightmare for Lisa Dembowski, who says her three daughters and their friend were randomly stabbed at the AMC Braintree 10 just after 6 p.m. Saturday while watching the movie “If.” She said she received a call from her sister telling her she had to go to the cinema immediately because her children had been stabbed. She rushed there and was stunned by what she saw when police took her inside.

“The movie theater was still open and people were buying tickets and it was like, I don't know. It was crazy to me that this was still happening,” she recalled Sunday on NBC10 Boston.

Dembowski said she immediately saw her three daughters but their friend had already been taken to the hospital. The girls, all ages 9 to 17, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Investigators say Jared Ravizza, 26, of Martha's Vineyard, entered the movie without paying, then without saying anything or warning, attacked the girls.

A man allegedly stabbed several girls ages 9 to 17 at a Massachusetts movie theater before leading police on a car chase to Cape Cod.

Dembowski said her daughters and their friend were the only ones inside when Ravizza came up behind them.

“My oldest was bending over to get something. He put her in the back, then my other daughter in the upper chest, then my youngest daughter on his arm, laughing the whole time, then he grabbed their friend and ran away.” she revealed.

Massachusetts State Police said that after fleeing the movie theater, Ravizza drove to the Route 3 rest stop in Plymouth where he allegedly stabbed two employees working at McDonald's around 7 p.m.

The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office said Sunday that Ravizza drove through the McDonald's drive-thru and stabbed a 28-year-old man with a large knife. He then allegedly parked his black Porsche, went inside and stabbed a 21-year-old woman before leaving the rest area in his SUV. The man was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess-Plymouth Hospital, while the woman was taken to South Shore Hospital; both suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Detectives reviewed surveillance video from the McDonald's and learned that a BOLO had been issued for Ravizza's arrest in other incidents.

A description of the suspect's vehicle helped state troopers locate him in Sandwich. Officers attempted to stop the SUV, but Ravizza failed to stop, leading police on a car chase that ended in a fiery crash, state police said.

The prosecutor's office says Ravizza was arrested around 7:15 p.m. in Sandwich and taken into custody. Ravizza is currently at South Shore Hospital where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Multiple sources tell NBC10 that Ravizza allegedly started this violent crime spree a few hours earlier in Deep River, Connecticut. They say he's a suspect in a death investigation there.

Dembowski said she was relieved that Ravizza was in custody.

“I think he’s a pretty sick person to be hurting children,” she said. “I hope he gets what he deserves.”

For now, Dembowski, a high school guidance counselor, is making sure her daughters and their friend mentally heal from this nightmare.

“I think the younger two are coping a little better, I think. The older one is very protective of them and she's just more worried in general about them and how they're going to get through this.”

Dembowski calls his eldest daughter and her friend heroes to calm the little ones. She says they were the ones who called the police for help.

NBC10 Boston reached out to the movie theater for comment but did not receive a response.

Ravizza is expected to appear in Plymouth District Court on Tuesday where he will face several charges, including assault with intent to murder. It was not immediately clear whether he had obtained an attorney.

An investigation by state and local police is active and ongoing.