US News

Reports: Suspected serial killer nabbed at Atlanta airport

Aug 12, 2010, 16:56 GMT

Washington - A man suspected of killing at least five people since May and attacking more than a dozen others was arrested at Atlanta airport, according to media reports Thursday.

The man, believed to be an Israeli citizen, was arrested Wednesday night while he was trying to board a Delta Air Lines flight to Tel Aviv, the Washington Examiner reported quoting US Customs and Border Protection officials.

He reportedly singled out people with dark skin, and is suspected to have carried out knife, hammer and other attacks in a three-state area.

The murder-and-attack spree began in Flint, Michigan, where at least 16 people have been attacked since May, including the five killed in Flint.

The latest Flint victim was stabbed and seriously injured Saturday morning outside a medical centre, the Detroit Free Press reported. The newspaper said all but two of the victims in the region had been black men, many of slight build and elderly.

In the Leesburg, Virginia, area, three dark-skinned men had been attacked over four days in August, two with a knife and one with a hammer wielded by a white stranger.

Another man was recently attacked in Toledo, Ohio, in a similar fashion.