Man stabs three aboard Amtrak train

OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio (AP) -- A man stabbed and wounded two<br>conductors and a passenger aboard an Amtrak train outside Cleveland<br>early today, police said.<br> <br>A suspect was arrested when a passenger,

Thursday, August 26th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio (AP) -- A man stabbed and wounded two
conductors and a passenger aboard an Amtrak train outside Cleveland
early today, police said.

A suspect was arrested when a passenger, in a crowd leaving the
stopped train, told police, "That's him. That's him."

The suspect stabbed a conductor, then started slashing at people
within his reach, wounding the two other victims, Olmsted Township
police Chief Dennis McCafferty said. The suspect was wounded in a
hand.

The three victims and the suspect were hospitalized, as was a
fifth person who complained of chest pains.

Police said there was no apparent motive, adding they didn't
believe the suspect knew the victims. An 8-inch knife was found in
the suspect's pants.

Patrolman Kim Kort, a crime scene technician, said it appeared
the attack began in a dining car. It wasn't immediately clear
whether some of the victims were stabbed in other cars, but police
found heavy blood in two other cars and blood trails through four.

Jessica Franz, 17, of Detroit, was asleep when a wounded
conductor stumbled into her compartment and fell.

"It was such a shock," said Franz, who was on her way to
school at Smith College in Massachusetts. "I'm just glad it's
over."

The Lake Shore Limited, which runs daily between Chicago and New
York, was approaching Cleveland with 330 people aboard when the
attacks began at about 1 a.m.

A conductor stopped the train in Olmsted Falls, 14 miles
southwest of Cleveland.

"When officers got on the scene there was a lot of pandemonium.
People were pouring out of the train," McCafferty said.

McCafferty said he could not verify an earlier report that the
suspect apparently was wounded as passengers wrested the knife from
him.

The suspect and victims were not identified. The other
passengers were taken on buses to Cleveland.

One stabbing victim, a man in his mid-30s, was likely to have
surgery for wounds to his cheek and jaw, said Patrick Garmone, a
spokesman at St. John West Shore in suburban Westlake.

A woman in her mid-50s who complained of chest pains and anxiety
was in stable condition, he said.

A 52-year-old man stabbed in the head was in surgery at
Cleveland MetroHealth Medical Center, spokesman Kelly Goodale said.
A 26-year-old man stabbed in the shoulder and chin was in stable
condition.

Goodale said the 41-year-old suspect was in stable condition.

Jackie Mallory, 50, of Chicago, was still shaking when she
stepped off the train for the bus trip into Cleveland.

"It's been a long night," she said.