Police: Israeli also suspect at home

The man accused of going on a three-state stabbing spree in the United States was also a suspect in a stabbing near Ramla, his hometown in Israel.

Elias Abuelazam, a member of Ramla’s Greek Orthodox community, is suspected of attacking people in Michigan, Ohio and Virginia, leaving 13 people wounded in addition to five dead. He was arrested Aug. 11 in Atlanta as he prepared to board a flight to Israel, where relatives said he lived until his family sent him to the United States when he was 18.

Israeli police said Abuelazam was a suspect in a stabbing attack early this year, although charges were never pressed. A senior police commander said Abuelazam was believed to have stabbed a close acquaintance in the face with a screwdriver during an argument in a parked car about six months ago. The commander said police dropped the case because the victim refused to cooperate with investigators. — ap