Man accused of stabbing 3 in downtown Seattle faces assault charges

Seattle Fire Department personnel converge at a crime scene outside of Nordstrom, Tuesday afternoon, where a man reportedly stabbed three people on the sidewalk, including a 77 and a 75-year-old man who were both transported to Harborview Medical Center and are in stable condition. The suspect was apprehended several blocks away. The third victim had minor injuries and refused transport to the hospital. less Seattle Fire Department personnel converge at a crime scene outside of Nordstrom, Tuesday afternoon, where a man reportedly stabbed three people on the sidewalk, including a 77 and a 75-year-old man who were ... more Photo: Genna Martin, SEATTLEPI Photo: Genna Martin, SEATTLEPI Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Man accused of stabbing 3 in downtown Seattle faces assault charges 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Prosecutors filed multiple assault charges against a man accused of stabbing three people last week and running from the scene naked in the Westlake shopping district, according to documents filed Thursday in King County Superior Court.

Christopher Morisette, 29, faced one count of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault two days after he allegedly and indiscriminately attacked a 79-year-old man, a 77-year-old man and a man police believed to be in his late 5os, on July 9 outside of the Seattle Nordstrom building on Sixth Avenue and Pine Street.

Outside of the Nordstrom building, police said Morisette stabbed the man in his 50s, Biruk Haile, while trying to steal his phone. Haile told police he fought Morisette away from him with a traffic cone. Haile's stab wound to the arm was treated at the scene.

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A Nordstrom employee told police he saw Morisette fighting with a man and heard him yell, "call the police, he has a knife." He said Morisette then walked toward him and swung the knife, "once, maybe twice."

Morisette then walked up to another random man and "took a swipe" at him, the Nordstrom employee said. Terry Sheets, 79 was struck by the knife in the lower jaw, upper neck area. He was transported to Harborview in critical condition but was treated and released Thursday, Harborview spokesperson Sue Gregg said in an email.

One of the victims, Robert Desjarlais, 77, told police he was on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pine Street when he felt a sharp pain in his lower back, probable cause documents said. He turned around and saw a man later identified as Morisette walking away while wielding a knife. Desjarlais was transported to Harborview Medical Center and released the same day, Gregg said.

Police responded to the scene at 10:06 a.m. and talked to the victims and witnesses. One witness said he saw Morisette leave the scene and take off all of his clothes, documents said. He followed Morisette until police arrested him in the HOV lane of an Interstate 5 off-ramp.

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Another witness told police he saw Morisette ditch a knife into a parked FedEx truck on Sixth Avenue. An officer found the 3 1/2-inch knife with blood on it on the floor of the truck.

Morisette had seven assault convictions from 2009 to 2013, and most recently pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault on Dec. 20, 2018 after assaulting a patient earlier that month at the Navos Mental Health Wellness Center.

He was booked into King County Jail and remained on $750,000 bail. He had an arraignment scheduled for July 22.

SeattlePI reporter Alex Halverson can be reached at alex.halverson@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter @AlexHalversonPI. Find more from Alex here.