Elias Abuelazam Is Arrested at an Atlanta Airport Gate as the Suspect in Stabbings That Killed Five
Abuelazam, 33, was trying to board a flight to Tel Aviv. Most of the men attacked in Michigan, Virginia and Ohio were Black, police said.
Published
A string of stabbings across three states had left five people dead. On August 12, 2010, police named Elias Abuelazam, arrested at an Atlanta airport gate, as their suspect.
Abuelazam, 33, a Christian from Israel, was paged by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at about 10 p.m. the night before, as he prepared to board Delta Flight 152 to Tel Aviv, The Washington Post reported. Investigators linked him to 18 stabbings in Michigan, Virginia and Ohio. "A person of interest was taken into custody. He is currently being held on unrelated charges," said Chris Jones of the Leesburg, Virginia, police. Leesburg Police Chief Joseph R. Price said: "My belief is he selected the victims in Leesburg based on the color of their skin." Most of the men attacked were Black. Abuelazam had once worked with troubled children at a mental health facility in Leesburg.
He was later sentenced in Michigan to life without parole for the August 2010 murder of Arnold Minor. He was also charged in two other fatal stabbings and six assaults in the Flint area, but prosecutors suspended those cases because he was already serving life. In 2017, under an immunity agreement, he admitted killing his Leesburg neighbor, Jammie Lane, in 2009, Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman said.
The Washington Post linked Abuelazam to 18 stabbings, while Salem-News.com reported that 20 men had been attacked.
Sources
- Man suspected as 'Flint serial killer' tried to settle in Northern Virginia, The Washington Post
- Police Say Israeli Stabbed at Least 18 African-American Men, Salem-News.com
- Suspected Serial Killer Confesses to Unsolved Va. Murder, NBC4 Washington (WTOP)