LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The suspect involved in the mass stabbing on the Las Vegas Strip told police he thought the showgirls were “laughing at him and making fun of his clothes,” according to an arrest report released on Friday.
Yoni Barrios, 32, was arrested shortly after the attack for two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon.
LVMPD received multiple calls about the mass stabbing, which reported a Hispanic male wearing a white shirt and black pants – "possibly a chef’s uniform," the arrest report noted – had stabbed several subjects and was running eastbound on Sands Avenue.
Police arriving on the scene immediately located Barrios on Sands Avenue with “blood on his clothing” and minor injuries on his hands "acquired during the stabbing."
After his arrest, homicide detectives discovered surveillance video from the Wynn Casino showing Barrios approaching a group of strip performers dressed as showgirls near the main entrance to the Wynn Casino. The video shows Barrios stabbing Maris Digiovanni, 30, in the chest and stabbing another woman in the back. Barrios then ran southbound on a sidewalk on the west side of the Wynn Casino, stabbing another victim – identified later by police as Brent Hallet.
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A victim interviewed by police at UMC Trauma said she was acting as a showgirl with Digiovanni and another girl when they were approached by Barrios, who asked if he could take a picture with them “with his knife.”
Barrios told the women he "was a chef," according to the arrest report. The victim told police that one of the showgirls got uncomfortable at the sight of the blade, which the victim described as a folding knife about 8” to 10” in length. She began to back away before Barrios charged and stabbed her in the back, the victim told police.
Another victim claimed they has witnessed Barrios approach the showgirls with a “suitcase and black bag” and asked to “take a picture with the knives he was trying to sell.” The victim told police the women were “not sure what to do about it since it was such an odd request.” She then saw Barrios pull a large knife from the black bag and stabbed Digiovanni in the chest before chasing another woman and stabbing her in the back.
After being released from Sunrise Hospital, Barrios was transported to LVMPD headquarters, where he was interviewed by homicide detectives. According to the arrest report, Barrios told police that he arrived in Las Vegas two days before from California to move in with a friend but was later told he “could not stay at the house."
Barrios then took a bus to the strip at 8:00 a.m. and recalled being made fun of by individuals on the bus, telling police he "wasn’t being treated like a human being."
Barrios told police he then went to the mall and asked “chauffeurs” for a ride back to California before he walked to the Wynn and asked a janitor about job opportunities. Barrios stated that he asked the janitor to contact ICE for him so he could “return home to Guatemala."
Barrios recalls also explaining to a security guard that he was attempting to sell knives so he could "get money to go back home." Barrios says the security guard replied by telling him to “jump in front of a train.”
Barrios then walked out of the Wynn and encountered a group of showgirls standing near the escalator. He asked the women to take a photo with them, telling them he “was a chef.”
Barrios told police he “thought the women were laughing at him and making fun of his clothing" after which he "became angry" and stabbed one of the women. He then began stabbing the other women in the group as they ran away, eventually running down the street to look for other people to “let his anger out.” Barrios said he did not say anything to the victims because he "did not know them," but estimated that he stabbed about six people before he was arrested.
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After the interview, Barrios was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of Murder with a Deadly Weapon and six counts of Attempted Murder with a Deadly Weapon.
