SURPRISE, AZ — A man in custody after allegedly stabbing a woman in Surprise on Sunday is connected to multiple other attacks, including a homicide in New York.
Around 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Surprise police officers were called to a McDonald's restaurant near Greenway and Reems roads.
When officers showed up, they found that a woman had been stabbed multiple times. She was taken to a hospital where she is recovering after undergoing surgery.
Family members have identified the victim in the McDonald's stabbing as 18-year-old Madison, who was working at the restaurant alongside her sister. According to the family, Madison was on her break when the suspect followed her into the bathroom and attacked her. They say her sister, who also was working at the restaurant at the time, rendered aid to her until medics arrived.
Family members have set up a GoFundMe for Madison's medical bills and provided the photo below of Madison (left) and her sister (right).
Officers learned a man with long dark hair had just run from the area after that attack. Police started searching for him and got word that a man matching the description reportedly stole a vehicle a few blocks away.
Eventually, the Scottsdale Police Department located the stolen vehicle and took 26-year-old Raad Almansoori into custody.
Authorities said Almansoori was located as he was trying to find another victim to attack.
Surprise police officials say that during questioning, Almansoori admitted to his involvement in the stabbing, as well as another stabbing a day prior in Phoenix.
In that incident, Phoenix police say officers were called for an armed robbery near 19th and Glendale avenues on Saturday around 2:45 p.m.
Officials say a woman was taken to a hospital and was treated for multiple stab wounds. According to police, Almansoori attempted to rob the woman's vehicle at knife-point.
In addition to the two Valley incidents, NYPD Crimestoppers in New York tell ABC15 Almansoori is a person of interest in a murder there.
According to New York officials, he is the suspect in the beating and strangulation death of a woman in a hotel earlier this month.
Police say his statements to police link him to the attacks in Surprise and Phoenix, the deadly attack in New York, as well as attacks in Florida.
Some of the victims were women who worked as “escorts,” according to officials.
Officials are now looking into other unsolved crimes in Florida and New York, and whether he may have been involved.
On Friday, Scottsdale police released body camera footage that shows Almansoori's arrest.
Almansoori was arrested by Scottsdale PD for driving a stolen vehicle related to a car jacking and stabbing in Surprise, AZ. It was later discovered he had been involved in numerous violent crimes throughout the nation. #ScottsdalePD #suprisepd #truecrime pic.twitter.com/tX6Uabpa1Q
— ScottsdalePD (@ScottsdalePD) February 24, 2024
EXTRADITION DISPUTE
During a press conference with Phoenix and Surprise police Wednesday, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said that Raad Almansoori will face Arizona charges before being extradited to New York.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg responded to Mitchell's announcement Wednesday with this statement:
"It is deeply disturbing that D.A. Mitchell is playing political games in a murder investigation. In Manhattan, we are serious about New Yorkers’ safety, which is why murders are down 24% and shootings are down 38% since D.A. Bragg took office. New York’s murder rate is less than half that of Phoenix, Arizona, because of the hard work of the NYPD and all of our law enforcement partners. It is a slap in the face to them and to the victim in our case to refuse to allow us to seek justice and full accountability for a New Yorker’s death."
On Thursday, Bragg called the decision a political move and a distraction from the victims in these cases and their families. Watch that news conference in the player below:
New York authorities provided the following timeline of their investigation into Almansoori:
- January 26 - Suspect purchases a plane ticket from Florida to New York
- January 29 - Credit card usage in New York City, indicating he arrived between 1/26 and 1/29
- February 6 - He visits an escort in upper Manhattan
- February 7/February 8 - Homicide at the SoHo Hotel
- February 12 - He flies back to Arizona out of Newark Airport
- February 17 - He does a carjacking in Arizona
- February 18 - He stabs a woman in McDonald's and is subsequently arrested.
Almansoori is being held without bond and is facing multiple charges in Surprise and Phoenix which include, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, theft, robbery, and more.
He also has a prior history of arrests, including kidnapping and sexual assault.
For now, Almansoori remains in custody in Arizona.