AUBURN, Wash. — A man in his late 20s was killed in a "random" stabbing at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort overnight.
The Auburn Police Department said it responded to the scene at 1:30 a.m. and found the victim with a stab wound to the neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene despite life-saving efforts.
Police said the victim was standing at one of the tables and the suspect walked up behind him and stabbed him in the neck.
Police said the investigation revealed the stabbing was a "completely random act" because the victim and suspect did not know each other. The victim and suspect are believed to have had no contact before the stabbing, police said.
"It's hard to react when someone attacks you from behind, unprovoked," said Kolby Crossley, a public information officer with the Auburn Police Department. "On a casino floor, right in front of so many people.”
Crossley said Auburn detectives believe this was not a targeted attack.
"We don't believe that there was any contact or whatsoever made between the victim and the suspect before the stabbing occurred," Crossley said. "We have surveillance footage, and a ton of witnesses, and things like that.”
Crossley said the casino was likely busy since it was over the weekend.
"This is extremely terrifying," Crossley said. "And when people hear it, read about it, it makes them not want to go outside."
In the meantime, the casino is still open and operating in the wake of the incident.
"Luckily, the person is in custody, so we're not looking for a suspect," Crossley said. "So we can focus all our attention on why this happened, and maybe we can prevent future incidents from like this from happening."
Muckleshoot Casino did not return our requests for comment, but the casino does have metal detectors at the entrances. For this reason, an off-the-record employee told KING 5 he did not know how a knife got in.
At this point, it is not clear where exactly that knife came from, however, as public details of the investigation are limited.
"I just know it was near a table," Crossley said. "I don't know if was blackjack or roulette."
The suspect was arrested without incident and booked into King County Jail.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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