Suspect in stabbing rampage arraigned, linked to Connecticut homicide (2024)

Local News

New details about the attacks allegedly committed by Jared Ravizza were revealed in court documents Tuesday. One witness told police that Ravizza reminded her of Jack Nicholson in "The Shining."

By Ross Cristantiello

May 28, 2024

Jared Ravizza, 26, of Chilmark, appeared in court Tuesday after allegedly stabbing six people at two locations on Saturday. He is also linked to a homicide investigation in Connecticut.

Ravizza was arraigned in Plymouth District Court on two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to murder, and indecent exposure. Those charges stem from the stabbings of two McDonald’s employees at a rest area on Route 3 in Plymouth Saturday night. A competency examination was ordered, according to court documents.

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Quincy District Court on four counts of assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Those charges are the result of an earlier attack Saturday that occurred at an AMC movie theater in Braintree, where four girls between the ages of 9 and 17 were stabbed.

Ravizza was detained after fleeing from officers and crashing his car in Sandwich. The victims attacked in Plymouth and Braintree are all in stable condition.

When asked about the chain of events that led to him being arrested and hospitalized, Ravizza told a nurse that he “wanted to have fun” Saturday night, according to a police report filed by State Police troopers who interviewed witnesses and reviewed surveillance footage.

Connecticut homicide

Just after 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, police responded to a residence on Merriwold Lane in the town of Deep River, Connecticut State Police said in a release. Troopers were told that a suspect threw a shovel through a window of the home’s front door. Witnesses said that the suspect was someone they recognized, and he had been staying nearby on Maritone Lane. An “audible disturbance” was heard before the shovel was thrown through the window.

Police then went to 15 Maritone Lane, where they discovered a man with visible injuries outdoors. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was later identified as Bruce Feldman, 70, of West Hartford, Connecticut.

Ravizza was identified as a suspect through interviews with witnesses and personal items that were found at the crime scene. An investigation is ongoing, and criminal charges are pending, police said.

Many new details were revealed Tuesday in a police report filed in Plymouth District Court, including confirmation that Ravizza is linked to the Deep River homicide.

At about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Connecticut State Police requested that troopers in Massachusetts check Ravizza’s residence. The owner and operator of a black 2018 Porsche Macan was deemed a person of interest after police found Feldman’s body. The Macan was found to be registered to Ravizza, according to the report.

Theater stabbings

Lisa Dembowski told The Boston Globe that the victims of the AMC stabbings were her three daughters and a friend. The four girls were in a theater by themselves to see the new film “If.”

At around 6 p.m., a man with a knife approached them from behind and attacked. There was no warning, but the assailant reportedly laughed as he attacked. The two oldest girls chased the attacker away. The girls suffered nonlife-threatening injuries, per the Globe.

“I think they are terrified that they could just go to a movie on a Saturday night, and this could happen — someone could just walk into a movie theater and do this,” Dembowski told the Globe.

Braintree police said that the attack appeared to be unprovoked and that it is related to the McDonald’s stabbings.

McDonald’s attack

An investigation into the McDonald’s attack began at about 7:45 p.m., when State Police troopers were alerted to the ongoing situation. Two employees, including a 21-year-old who wasfinishing up her first day on the job, were stabbed. When troopers arrived at the rest stop, employees had already cleaned the floor but “reddish-brown substances” were still found on a wall near the drive-through window and in other areas.

The first person to be attacked at the McDonald’s was a 28-year-old man working the drive-through window, according to the State Police report. He told police that a man matching Ravizza’s description ordered two double cheeseburgers, a small order of fries, and a McFlurry. At the window, the man asked for a fork and knife, and grew agitated as he asked the employee to check the bag to make sure the order was correct. The employee said he emptied the bag and refilled it to show Ravizza that everything was there.

But Ravizza allegedly lunged out of his car and stabbed the employee in the arm. He estimated that Ravizza was wielding a kitchen knife about 8 inches long, according to the report. The knife appeared to have a cable attached to the end of it.

A witness told police that she heard a commotion at the drive-through window before seeing the Porsche drive around to the building’s entrance. Ravizza entered, wearing a dark jacket with no shirt underneath. Another witness reported seeing him “swinging” the knife around.

The female victim had only been in the U.S. for a few days at the time of the attack, and Saturday was her first shift at the McDonald’s. She saw Ravizza enter the building holding a knife above his head, according to the report. She was working at a cash register, and Ravizza allegedly went behind the counter to attack her. She was stabbed three times and needed seven stitches in total. She was able to flee to a secure room at the back of the restaurant to wait for police while Ravizza fled, according to the report.

A witness described to police how she chased Ravizza back to his car after the second stabbing. As she did so, he “turned around, smiled and gave her the okay hand gesture,” according to the report. He did not say anything.

Before the McDonald’s attack, another witness allegedly had a troubling encounter with Ravizza at the rest area. While driving up to place an order in the drive-through area, she saw the Porsche stopped and a man matching Ravizza’s description openly urinating outside it. She gestured to him, and Ravizza gave her a look “akin to Jack Nicholdson’s expression in ‘The Shining,’” according to the report. Ravizza then got back into the Porsche, pulled forward, got back out, and finished urinating. He gave the witness the middle finger as he got back into the Porsche again.

After the stabbings, witnesses gave information to police that led to a high speed chase. Ravizza was arrested after the Porsche crashed near Cotuit Road in Sandwich. He was treated for superficial scratches and the removal of four taser probes at a local hospital. He told a doctor that he was in a police chase when he lost control of his vehicle. It rolled six times, and Ravizza claimed he reached speeds of 150 mph, according to the police report. When a nurse asked Ravizza what happened, he made the comment about “wanting to have fun” without elaborating.

April incident

The violent events of the weekend were not Ravizza’s first run-in with police. On April 14, West Tisbury police officers responded to an address on State Road at about 2:40 a.m for a report of a domestic assault and battery. A man named Jason Ravizza told officers that his son, Jared, had “just had a mental break and attacked him,” according to a police report filed in Edgartown District Court.

Officers spoke with Jared Ravizza inside. He seemed “clearly intoxicated” and refused to share his side of the story with police. He “aggressively approached” officers and screamed “cuff me!” Police decided to detain him in the interest of their safety.

“Mr. Ravizza began speaking to us about nonsensical things such as the deep state and claiming that his family helped start the country with John Adam [sic] but that his father didn’t love him and that his father wanted him dead,” police wrote in their report. “He also included such groups as the Masons in his rants. Mr. Ravizza began screaming that he hopes his father dies and began frothing out the mouth as he spoke.”

Jared Ravizza was then brought to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital for a mental health evaluation. Jason Ravizza told police that his son had a violent outburst. Police noticed fresh scratches on his face and thumb. Jason Ravizza showed officers inside, according to the report. They documented overturned furniture, documents scattered on the floor, a broken door, and damage to the walls.

At the hospital, Jared Ravizza was examined by a mental health professional and did not meet their standards to be involuntarily held under a law known as Section 12, according to the report. He was discharged from the hospital and then officially arrested on charges of assault and battery and destruction of property. He was brought to a local jail and booked in the usual fashion. The case was directed to pretrial diversion, and a session was scheduled for November.