Suspect in Massachusetts stabbing series linked to Connecticut death investigation

A 26-year-old man accused of carrying out a stabbing in Massachusetts over the weekend that injured six people, including four girls, was ordered to undergo a forensic evaluation on Tuesday.

Jared Ravizza, 26, is accused of attacking four girls at a Braintree movie theater and stabbing two McDonald’s employees at a Plymouth rest stop. He was arrested Saturday after a chase that ended with a crash in his black 2018 Porsche Macan.

A judge granted Ravizza’s public defender’s request for a competency evaluation at his arraignment Tuesday in Plymouth. Ravizza’s lawyer made no admission of guilt and declined a request for comment.

In Plymouth, Ravizza was charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of armed assault with murder and one count of creating a public nuisance.

In a criminal complaint filed in Braintree, Ravizza was charged with four counts of alleged assault resulting in murder and four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Connecticut State Police said Tuesday that Ravizza was also involved in the investigation into a death that occurred Saturday afternoon in Deep River.

2 McDonald’s employees stabbed to death in Plymouth

Officers from the Massachusetts State Police and Plymouth Police responded to a McDonald’s on Saturday night after receiving calls reporting that a customer had stabbed two employees.

According to witness statements and surveillance video, Ravizza drove to the drive-thru window at 6:52 p.m., got into a verbal argument with an employee, Igor Marques, and stabbed him about a minute later, police said.

Marques told police he and a co-worker prepared Ravizza’s order – two double cheeseburgers, a small order of fries and a McFlurry. When Ravizza came to the window, he asked for silverware and told Marques to remove all the items from his bag to make sure his order was correct, officers said.

Officials said Ravizza tried to grab the bag, at which point Marques said he backed away and Ravizza charged forward with a knife. Surveillance video mentioned in the criminal complaint appeared to corroborate Marques’ testimony.

According to the criminal complaint, the cut on Marques’ arm was about 3.5 centimeters long and 1.5 centimeters deep.

Marques rushed outside to call his supervisor and police. One of his co-workers told police he fled to another room to call for help and heard someone yelling “Stop” and “Don’t do that,” authorities said.

Another employee who worked outside the building told police that Ravizza turned his car around and parked outside after Marques was injured, authorities said. They said he then went into the building with a knife and stabbed another employee, Eliamny Garcia.

Police questioned Garcia at the hospital, where police officials told her she had suffered three stab wounds. The largest wound, on her upper left arm, required four stitches.

According to police, Garcia said Ravizza came in with the knife above her head and ran toward her. She was stabbed as she ran to the back of the restaurant, where she hid until police arrived, the complaint states.

A woman told officers she saw a man matching Ravizza’s description exposing himself and urinating in front of a Porsche in the drive-thru line. She compared his expression to “Jack Nicholson’s expression in ‘The Shining.'” He told her he had to pee and gave her the middle finger, police said.

The woman told authorities she saw the man brandishing a large knife and that his upper body was partially outside the driver’s window.

Authorities link Ravizza to stabbing at cinema

Authorities believe Ravizza was involved in two other incidents before the stabbing in Plymouth.

An hour before the violence at McDonald’s, police were alerted to a stabbing about 30 miles north at a movie theater in Braintree. Authorities, who did not provide details of the alleged attack in the criminal complaint, said four girls, ages 9 to 17, were attacked “without saying anything and without warning.”

Lisa Dembowski told NBC Boston that her three daughters were watching “If” with a friend when a man approached them from behind as they sat down.

“I think the two younger ones are coping a little better with it,” said Dembowski. “The older one is very protective and is simply more worried about them and how they will fare.”

The girls are expected to make a physical recovery, but Dembowski said they are emotionally shaken.

A criminal complaint was filed against Ravizza on Tuesday in connection with the Braintree incident. A spokesman for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said he was not brought into court to discuss those charges.

Murder investigation in Connecticut

The criminal complaint for the Plymouth incident states that Connecticut authorities asked Massachusetts State Police for help in verifying Ravizza’s Massachusetts residence, which he described as a “person of interest” in a “homicide” investigation.

Connecticut State Police said Tuesday that Ravizza was identified at the scene of an incident at a home in Deep River on Saturday. Officers responded to a home on Merriwold Lane at 3:36 p.m. after a report that someone “threw a shovel through the front door window and then walked away.”

Police said the person was identified as someone who was at a nearby home, where officers discovered a man outside with “visible injuries.” The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities did not release the cause of death of the man, identified as Bruce Feldman, 70.

Authorities said Ravizza’s belongings were found at the scene and witnesses provided a description of him. Tuesday’s statement did not name him as a suspect in Feldman’s death.

Connecticut State Police said the investigation is ongoing.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com.