Showgirls targeted in Las Vegas stabbing attack after rebuffing suspect's request for photo: report
Yoni Barrios is accused of wounding six, killing two in knife attacks near the Wynn resort on the Las Vegas Strip
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The man accused of killing two people and wounding six others in an "unprovoked" attack on the Las Vegas Strip went into a fit of rage after a group of showgirls refused to take a picture with him, according to officials and a local report.
Yoni Barrios, 32, approached the group of women on the famous Las Vegas Strip on Thursday and said he was a chef, local news station KTNV reported. Holding what police described as a "large knife with a long blade," he asked the women if they would pose for a photograph with him — then began attacking when they rebuffed him, the outlet reported.
Barrios stabbed eight people — a mix of tourists and residents — just after 11:40 a.m. local time on the sidewalk near the Wynn Las Vegas, police said. Two people — Las Vegas residents Brent Allan Hallett, 47, and Maris Mareen DiGiovanni, 30 — could not be saved, officials said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LAS VEGAS STRIP DEADLY STABBING SUSPECT IDENTIFIED, BOOKED FOR MURDER
Las Vegas Metro Police Department Deputy Chief James LaRochelle said the attack appeared "unprovoked" and there was "no altercation beforehand."
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IMAGE IS GRAPHIC IN NATURE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This image shows an apparent victim of the Las Vegas stabbing on Thursday. (Pierre Fandrich/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
"That stabbing occurs quickly, and then the suspect subsequently goes southbound on the sidewalk area and stabs additional victims," LaRochelle said. As of Thursday, three of the surviving victims were in critical condition.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IMAGE IS GRAPHIC IN NATURE
This image shows an apparent victim of the Las Vegas stabbing on Thursday. (Pierre Fandrich/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
Jason Adams, who saw the violence unfold, told 8 News Now that Barrios "ran up, and started stabbing this lady in front of me."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"She ran around the escalators, and she tried to get up under the bridge and her girlfriend was trying to help her," Adams continued.
Barrios then allegedly rushed eastbound, but witnesses and 911 callers followed him until he got to the area of the Venetian, where he was stopped by police and a nearby security guard. He allegedly had "blood on his sleeves" when he was arrested, KTNV reported.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Barrios was charged with two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, police said.
Information regarding victim Brent Allan Hallett was not immediately available.
In a post on his Facebook account late Thursday, Gage DiGiovanni, who identified himself as Maris Mareen Digiovanni’s brother, asked for prayers for his family and Maris’ husband.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Maris Mareen DiGiovanni, a victim of the Las Vegas Strip stabbing on Thursday. (Facebook)
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"Maris was a victim of the horrific random stabbing of 8 people in Las Vegas today," he wrote. "We appreciate the space to grieve in the coming days and know she touched your lives as she did ours."
A spokesperson for the Wynn Resort declined to comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Larry Fink contributed to this report.