Muslim (CORRECTION, HE'S A CHRISTIAN) Serial Killer Arrested - MSNBC Calls Him an "Israeli"

Yes, he an Israeli, and AN ENIGMA.

From MSNBC:

Suspect tied to serial stabbings an enigma

Authorities probe 18 attacks, 5 deaths in three states since May

FLINT, Mich. — Nearly a day after his arrest in connection with a string of 18 stabbings in three states that left five people dead, an Israeli national suspected in the crimes remains a mystery, and possible motives in the attacks are unclear. 

Elias Abuelazam, 33, is charged with assault with intent to murder in a July 27 stabbing in Flint, Mich., officials said Thursday, and he is being investigated in other cases in northern Virginia and Ohio.

Leesburg, Va., police are investigating whether Abuelazam was responsible for the March 26, 2009, killing of Jammie Lane, 44, who was stabbed to death in his residence, Police Chief Joseph Price said Thursday.
"We are going to explore all possible connections," Price said. "That case remains a very active case."
\Abuelazam also had an outstanding arrest warrant related to a "family based assault" in 2007, Price said.

Abuelazam was arrested Wednesday night at a boarding gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport shortly before his plane was to take off. Officers seized him after he was paged over the intercom and told to report at a ticket counter.

Passengers on the Delta Air Lines flight that Abuelazam intended to take to Tel Aviv were stunned but said Abuelazam appeared tense at the gate. He was talking to someone on his cell phone "about not being violent and different things like that," passenger Eugene Williams said after the plane landed in Tel Aviv.

Abuelazam's mother, Iyam al-Azzam, told Israel Radio that she talked to her son by phone before he was supposed to board "and he sounded the same as usual, quiet and calm."

From ABC:

Most of the stabbing victims were black men, but Leyton declined to say the attacks were racially motivated.
 
"We don't have a motive yet, but as you know many times the motive doesn't appear until later in the investigation," Leyton said. He added, "Jury instructions don't require us necessarily to have a motive."

Leyton said a police hotline on the case received more than 500 tips, including the one that sent police looking for Abuelazam.

Police believe Abuelazam may be behind 18 knife attacks beginning in May that spanned Michigan, Virginia and Ohio. Five of the victims died from their wounds. The serial stabber was blamed for as many as 20 attacks at one point, but police determined two of the reported assaults were not likely linked to the serial stabber.

Abuelazam, who was born in Israel and is of Arab descent, was living in the U.S. legally and has been linked to cities across the country. Police believe he came to Michigan in May, just days before the attacks began.

"He was a good guy. He was a friendly guy. He was a nice guy," Abuelazam's one time boss Abdullah Farah said today. "He said he was leaving to see some relatives and he never came back."

Investigators believe Abuelazam had an uncle in the Flint, Mich., area as well as a sister in Virginia, Leyton said. He had lived in Leesburg, where he worked at a mental health clinic before traveling to Michigan.

CORRECTION: HE'S A CHRISTIAN.

Clearly, I owe the moderate Muslims of the world an apology.

From AM Nation:

Ramla's Christian community members describe Abuelazam as 'character you don't want to mess with,' say he sometimes used drugs, returned to US after getting into violent brawl with friend
Elias Abuelazam, 33, who is suspected of committing five murders in the United States, is well known in Ramla's Christian Arab community.
The Israeli citizen moved to the United States when he was still a child, after his mother remarried. His family moved back to Ramla after some years abroad. His divorcee, Jessica, was stunned to hear the news, and said she was shocked.
Abuelazam, who was detained after boarding a Delta flight from Atlanta to Tel Aviv, visited Israel only six months ago.
According to information obtained by the police, Abuelazam was involved in a violent brawl with a friend, after which he left back to the US.
Abuelazam's acquaintances said he stayed close to his mother's house near the municipal market in Ramla. He didn't have a steady job and was largely financed by his mother. Acquaintances also said Abuelazam sometimes used drugs and got entangled in fights.
"He is a bulky man, a frightening character; someone you don't want to mess with," said an acquaintance.