A Vineyard man was arrested this weekend in connection with several stabbings on the mainland. 

Police took Jared Ravizza, 26, of Chilmark, into custody Saturday night after he allegedly stabbed four children at a movie theatre in Braintree and two employees at a rest stop McDonald’s in Plymouth. 

In a statement Sunday, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said Mr. Ravizza was arrested around 7:15 pm. in Sandwich after he crashed a Porsche while fleeing police. About an hour earlier, Mr. Ravizza took the vehicle to the Route 3 McDonald’s drive-thru, reached through the window and grabbed the 28 year-old man working there. Mr. Ravizza then stabbed him with a large knife, the district attorney’s office said. 

Afterwards, Mr. Ravizza allegedly parked the Porsche, went into the restaurant and stabbed a 21 year-old woman working there. Both employees were taken to nearby hospitals.

Jared Ravizza being taken into custody. — David Curran

Law enforcement officials said Mr. Ravizza was also being investigated for stabbing four children at a movie theatre in Braintree earlier in the day. 

Braintree police said at about 6 p.m. Saturday, a man went into the AMC Braintree 10 theatre complex and entered one of the theatres. Unprovoked, he went on to stab four girls inside, police said in a statement. 

The girls’ ages ranged from 9 to 17. Each was taken to Boston-area hospitals for injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. 

Police say the man, who is not explicitly identified as Mr. Ravizza, drove off in a black SUV that matched the stabbings in Plymouth. 

State police also indicated a connection between the two incidents, though the department also did not identify Mr. Ravizza. 

“Preliminary investigation suggests a likely connection to an earlier incident at a movie theatre in Braintree resulting in non-life threatening injuries to four juveniles,” state police said in a statement about the Plymouth stabbings. 

Mr. Ravizza was taken to South Shore Hospital for injuries after he crashed in Sandwich, according to the Plymouth district attorney’s office. 

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Plymouth District Court Tuesday, facing assault with intent to murder and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for the Plymouth incidents.

State police and Braintree police didn’t respond to requests for further comment Sunday. 

Edgartown District Court records show Mr. Ravizza also had a run-in with law enforcement on the Island. 

West Tisbury police filed a complaint with the court in April against Mr. Ravizza, charging him with assault and battery on a household or family member and vandalizing property. 

On April 14, West Tisbury police responded to a home on State Road after Mr. Ravizza’s father said Jared had a mental break and attacked him, according to a police report. 

Mr. Ravizza appeared intoxicated, police said, and became aggressive when officers tried to put handcuffs on him. While being detained, Mr. Ravizza “began speaking to us about nonsensical things such as the deep state,” masons, and how his father wanted him dead, according to the report. 

Police took Mr. Ravizza to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital for a mental health evaluation and, according to the report, he did not meet the standards to be held there. Police later took Mr. Ravizza to the Dukes County Jail in Edgartown. 

He was scheduled to be arraigned on April 19, but it was delayed until May 6. The court granted Mr. Ravizza pretrial diversion.  In Massachusetts, some defendants can avoid criminal prosecution through a diversion program. 

Diversions can include a variety of different programs, including substance use disorder treatment, psychological services, counseling and other rehabilitative services. Court records available on Monday did not show the parameters of Mr. Ravizza’s diversion program.

West Tisbury police chief Matthew Mincone referred questions on the case to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office. A spokesperson for district attorney Robert Galibois declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. 

Mr. Ravizza appears to have come to the Island for several years and a public Instagram profile with his name shows him on the Vineyard going back to at least 2022. He frequented the Yoga Barn studio, and had several pictures of him playing tennis and posing with a black Porsche SUV.

In 2023, he filed paperwork with the Dukes County Probate and Family Court to change his name from Jared Christian Ravizza to Jared Christian Ravizza Jones, in honor of his paternal grandmother’s name. 

A judge granted the name change in May of that year, though that paperwork listed Mr. Ravizza as living in West Tisbury. 

Jared Ravizza was named CEO of the Ravizza Jones marketing agency on the agency’s website. The website said the digital marketing outfit was based in New York and Beverly Hills and Mr. Ravizza split his time between Beverly Hills and the Vineyard. 

One picture on the website showed Mr. Ravizza, with his long, platinum blond hair, sitting at a keyboard, with the caption “Jared Ravizza in Chilmark, Martha’s Vineyard.”

Editor's note: this story has been updated with details about Mr. Ravizza's arrest in West Tisbury.