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Little Rock Police Scramble To Identify Suspected Serial Killer After Multiple Stabbings
Arkansas authorities are asking the public for assistance in identifying a possible serial killer who they say is behind multiple stabbings that have occurred in Little Rock since August.
Detectives in Arkansas are investigating the identity of a possible serial killer behind a series of late-night slashings in Little Rock in recent months.
Since August, four people have been stabbed in the early morning hours on the city’s west side. Three victims have died after being attacked.
On Aug. 24, Larry McChristian, 64, was stabbed to death at 2200 South Gaines Street, KATV reported. Nearly a month later, Jeff Welch, 62, was fatally stabbed at 4218 W. 12th St. Police said he had puncture wounds to his neck. The third knife attack unfolded on April 11, when a 43-year-old woman sustained more than a dozen stab wounds after she was attacked at 1906 S. Pulaski Street. She survived the attack, according to investigators. The next day, the body of a homeless man was found on Wright Avenue, according to police.
Homicide detectives said they suspect all the stabbings are linked.
“Detectives took information from those two cases and compared them to two homicides from six months ago and noted similarities in all four cases,” Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey said in a recorded statement on Thursday. “It was determined then that these incidents could possibly be connected based off the evidence of each case. Therefore, I need to notify the public.”
All of the attacks occurred in the West Little Rock’s Midtown neighborhood between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., according to law enforcement. Detectives are said to believe the suspect in question is familiar with the neighborhood.
“Those who were walking in the area were randomly attacked,” Humphrey added.
On Thursday, police publicly released surveillance camera footage of the alleged assailant.
In grainy black and white video footage, which is not dated, an individual can be seen pacing back and forth across the street in what appears to be a residential neighborhood. A second recording shows what appears to be the same person crossing a street past a stop sign. Authorities said the suspect in question is possibly a Black male with a slender build.
“There is a strong possibility the person who did this continues to work and/or live in our community,” Little Rock Police said in a statement accompanying the video. “He likely has familiarity with the area in which the victims were attacked.”
City police have increased surveillance of the neighborhood and have dispatched additional uniformed and plainclothes officers to the area. Humphrey said officers had also been actively engaging the neighborhood’s at-risk populations in an attempt to spread awareness of the attacks.
Authorities have since urged the public to be mindful of the wanted individual.
The FBI is assisting Little Rock police on the case as authorities seek further surveillance footage from homes and businesses in the area where the stabbings occurred. They have also issued up to a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
“We have no evidence that these incidents are connected with another part of the state, despite claims on social media," Humphrey said. "Let me be clear: we will do everything possible to arrest this suspect and protect our city. We also need your help."
There have been 22 homicides in Little Rock in 2021, according to police officials. A spokesperson for Little Rock Police Department didn’t immediately respond to Oxygen.com on Friday.
Officials are urging the public to contact Little Rock homicide investigators at 501-371-4636 or by email at ASKLRPD@littlerock.gov if they have information related to the string of killings.
