Two people are dead after a suspect went on a stabbing rampage in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Arthur DaRosa, 28, of Taunton, stabbed two people at a home on Tuesday evening before driving to a mall and stabbing two more people inside, authorities said.

DaRosa went inside a home in Myricks Street and stabbed two women just after 7pm, District Attorney Thomas Quinn said.

One of them, who was 80 years old, died of her injuries. The other was taken to the hospital.

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Arthur DaRosa, 28 (pictured in a Facebook shot) stabbed two people at a home in Taunton, Massachusetts on Tuesday evening before driving to a mall and stabbing two more people inside. One of his victims (right) has been identified as 80-year-old Patricia Slavin

An off-duty police officer shot DaRosa (pictured on a gurney on Tuesday evening) who was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead

DaRosa crashed his car (pictured) into the mall's Macy's store just before 7pm. He stabbed two more people inside before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer

Sources told WHDH the 80-year-old was named Patricia Slavin and that the other woman was her daughter.

A neighbor interviewed by the network described Slavin and her family as 'very nice people', adding: 'I couldn't ask for better neighbors all around.'

A red pickup truck was later towed from the scene in Myricks Street.

DaRosa then went to the Silver City Galleria Mall, about three miles away, and crashed his car into a Macy's store.

He went inside and assaulted three people inside Macy's.

DaRosa then made his way to Bertucci, an Italian restaurant at the mall, where he stabbed two more people.

One of them, a 56-year-old man from Taunton, has died.

An off-duty sheriff shot DaRosa once inside the mall. DaRosa was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The six stabbing victims included a pregnant woman, a witness told WBZ. They were all taken to the hospital after the attack.

DaRosa's motive remains under investigation but the attack didn't seem related to terrorism, state police said. The family of DaRosa told WBZ that he went to a hospital on Monday for suicidal thoughts and was released shortly before the rampage.

DaRosa first crashed his vehicle on Myricks Street before stabbing the two women - and later crashed it again at the mall.

Witnesses told WCVB they saw DaRosa running around Myricks Street after crashing his car and trying to break into several homes.

'It was chaos,' resident Doug Kinsman told the network. 'He was definitely not in the right state of mind.'

Officers from the state and local police are still investigating. The Macy's store (pictured barred with crime scene tape after the attack on Tuesday) and the rest of the mall have been evacuated

A red pickup truck (pictured) was towed from the scene in Myricks Street, where DaRosa crashed his vehicle before stabbing two women and fleeing in a stolen car

DaRosa fled in a stolen black car and drove to the mall.

Witnesses said chaos erupted when DaRosa stormed the Macy's store.

'I came out and I heard girls running and people screaming, 'There's a guy,'' Reshma Noorani, who was in a fitting room at the time, told WCVB. 'We're used to guys entering the store, so we thought he must have had a gun. I ran with them. I was scared.'

DaRosa then went inside Bertucci's.

'I saw him just start stabbing people,' witness Emaly Higgings told the network. 'And there was someone with a chair trying to throw it at (the suspect). There was an off-duty police officer there, and he actually shot him and kept him down.'

Several ambulances responded to the scene and the mall was evacuated on Tuesday night.

'I heard shots and saw cops loading AR-15s and I ran for my life,' a witness told WBZ.

DaRosa was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, malicious damage to a motor vehicle, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct in 2009, according to a report published by the Taunton Gazette at the time.

His father and sister said he suffered from psychiatric issues, and had been hospitalized for suicidal thoughts on Monday, CBS Boston reports. He was hospitalized at Morton Hospital on Monday and then released Tuesday morning.

Doctors have prescribed him with medication for his mental health issues, but he had refused to take them in the past. He leaves behind two children.

There is no continuing threat to the public, state police said.

Taunton is located about 40 miles south of Boston.

'Tragedy certainly hit the city of Taunton hard here this evening,' Mayor Thomas Hoye said during a press conference.

'Certainly our heartfelt prayers go out to all of the victims of this senseless tragedy. I’d like to thank the off-duty sheriff for if it wasn’t for his heroic actions there could have been more loss of life.'

Carl Bachman, a senior vice-president at Bertucci’s, said in a statement: 'Right now our thoughts are with the victims and their families of this tragedy.

'We are working with law enforcement officials to help in the investigation. We are doing everything we can for our employees during this difficult time.'

Witnesses said they heard gunshots inside the Silver City Galleria mall (pictured) on Tuesday night. DaRosa's motive remains under investigation but the attack didn't seem related to terrorism, officers said