4 people stabbed at La Center casino, man arrested
LA CENTER, Wash. - Four people were stabbed or slashed at a casino in La Center in what witnesses described as a random, unprovoked attack late Monday night, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said.
A suspect in the case was arrested early Tuesday, and all four victims were expected to survive.
The attack happened just before midnight, according to the sheriff’s office, and several people at the New Phoenix and Last Frontier casinos called 911 to report the stabbings.
Though patrons and employees at the casinos — which share a building but are two separate entities — tried to stop the attacker, he was able to make it to a car and fled the scene.
Deputies found the vehicle and pursued the suspect, the sheriff’s office said, with the chase reaching speeds of over 100 mph. It ended after law enforcement used an "immobilization technique" to stop the vehicle, and the driver was arrested.
Video from the casino showed a man sitting at a poker table before reaching down and grabbing something, the sheriff’s office said. Then he stood and "without provocation or warning" stabbed the man sitting next to him five times in the head and chest, it continued.
Several people tried to intervene, but the man began swinging the knife at them before stabbing a woman sitting at the same table, police said. The suspect then chased another man into the parking lot, and stabbed him when he fell, before getting into a car and driving away.
It was not immediately clear how the fourth victim was wounded. All four were taken to a nearby hospital, and three of them were treated and released.
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The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said Scott Harmier, 41, of Vancouver is charged with four counts of felony assault. Jail records do not show if he has obtained an attorney. Harmier is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning.