When you buy something through one of the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
A senseless attack has left a Massachusetts community reeling after a man described as wearing “an oversized trench coat, sunglasses, and a long blonde wig” stabbed four young girls at a movie theater before injuring two more people at a McDonald’s in Braintree.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening at the AMC Braintree 10 multiplex. According to police reports, 26-year-old Jared Ravizza entered a theater without paying and launched an unprovoked attack on four girls aged between 9 and 17. Witnesses are reporting that Ravizza laughed throughout the assault.
In the days following the attacks, an investigation into Ravizza has found the 26-year-old to be the son of a wealthy mental health clinician in Martha’s Vineyard. Ravizza himself, claimed to operate a “leading global digital marketing & social media management agency” called, “Ravizza Jones” although there’s no evidence this was an active business besides a website.
Locals say he and his father transformed their appearances during the pandemic going from preppy, upscale clothing to long blonde-haired surfer types. They describe Ravizza as having an obsession with his looks and exercising.
An investigation into Ravizza’s background shows that he was also in the process of an identity change. Paperwork filed in May requesting a legal name change from Jared Christian Ravizza Jones to Jared Love Jones just last month. The request was granted the next day. Numerous pictures on Instagram show the suspect wearing a blonde wig and wearing woman’s clothing.
After the attack at the AMC, Police were able to obtain a license plate number from security footage to attempt and identify the attacker.
Lisa Dembrowski, mother of the three girls spoke on the incident at the AMC saying:
“They had just sat down, they had just got their concessions. I guess he came up behind them, they were in like the second row. He came up behind them. My oldest was leaned over to get something, he got her in the back. My other daughter in the chest. My last daughter across her arm. Laughing the whole time. Then [stabbed] their friend and ran off. The two older girls chased him outside, then they realized what was going on.”
Around 7pm, less than an hour later and approximately 30 miles away in Plymouth, Ravizza allegedly struck again, injuring a 21-year-old female and a 29-year-old male at a McDonald’s inside of a rest stop. Ravizza reportedly drove into the drive-thru in a black Porsche and got out of the vehicle. He then urinated on the ground and proceeded to get into an argument with one of the employee’s working the window.
Ravizza stabbed him in the arm with a “long kitchen knife.” That’s when Ravizza parked his car and went inside, allegedly stabbing a female employee in the arm.
Both victims were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. A witness to the McDonald’s attack said that Ravizza had an expression that looked like Jack Nicholson’s character in The Shining.
Police caught up with the suspect and engaged in a chase that ended in Ravizza crashing his car in Sandwich, MA. He was taken into custody
Ravizza had a lead up of arrests and incidents prior to the stabbings. One was for allegedly attacking his father who claimed his son suffered a “mental break” before assaulting him and wrecking his office. In a separate incident during a dispute with neighbors, he “threw a shovel through their window” when they called the cops. Ravizza is also a suspect in the murder of his 70-year-old roommate in Deep River, Connecticut. Two dogs inside the home were also fatally stabbed.
The Braintree community is left grappling with the trauma of the attack:
A news release from the Braintree police stated: “Without saying anything and without warning, the assailant suddenly attacked and stabbed four young females. The attack appeared to be unprovoked. The victims were taken to a Boston hospital.”
When asked how her three daughters were doing, Dembrowski said:
“They don’t want to go to the movies ever again. Shaken up. They are physically fine. Kids are resilient. But I think they are terrified that they could just go to a movie on a Saturday night, and this could happen. Someone could just walk into a movie theater and someone could do this.”
Ravizza was arraigned last Tuesday in Plymouth on four charges related to the McDonald’s and AMC attack. He faces an armed assault with intent to murder charge and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He has an indecent exposure in Connecticut and a pending homicide-related charge in Connecticut.
He’s currently in the Bridgewater State Hospital after being evaluated on his mental health. The attending doctor said Ravizza didn’t “demonstrate the rational capacity” to work with an attorney.
Ravizza’s attorney, Sean O’Neill has no comment at this time.
