Stabbing suspect with Island ties arrested

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Police say Jared Ravizza charged into an AMC movie theater in Braintree and attacked four young girls. –DAVID CURRAN/SATELLITENEWSSERVICE.COM

A suspect charged by police in two stabbing incidents in Braintree and Plymouth, and now reportedly linked to a murder investigation in Connecticut, has been living on Martha’s Vineyard for the past several years. 

The man, identified by police as Jared Ravizza, was arrested by Braintree Police after he charged into an AMC movie theater in Braintree on Saturday at approximately 6 pm wielding a knife and attacking four girls, ages 9 to 17, who were taken to the hospital with injuries that were described as not life-threatening. 

Ravizza fled the scene in a black SUV, police said. One hour later, State Police started receiving 911 calls reporting a stabbing of a man and a woman in their 20s at the McDonald’s inside the Route 3 Park and Ride in Plymouth; police say Ravizza was connected to both attacks.

Braintree Police managed to get a license plate from surveillance video outside the AMC theater, and Ravizza’s vehicle was spotted by Massachusetts State Police, who pursued him in a high-speed chase that ended in him crashing his car in Sandwich, located south of Plymouth. 

CBS affiliate WBZ News in Boston reported that a mother of one of the young girls injured in the Braintree attack described Ravizza as “laughing the whole time” he carried out the unprovoked attack. 

He was described by police as wearing a trench coat and a blond wig. But residents of the Island who knew him in different interactions over the past three years said that the long blonde hair, as it appears in news coverage of him being arrested, is his own. And the black SUV may be the same black Porsche SUV he frequently drove on the Island.

A half-dozen Island residents interviewed by The MV Times shared different shards of Ravizza’s life here on the Island that range from several bizarre and hostile interactions in public settings to practicing yoga at the Yoga Barn. He was known for his signature long blond hair, a penchant for wearing aviator sunglasses, and frequent claims that he was a model in Los Angeles.

Island residents, who all asked that their names not be used because of of fear for their safety, said Ravizza was quick to anger and often seemed unhinged. Two people were said to have contacted police about his behavior, and their concerns that he was capable of violence. West Tisbury Police Chief Matt Mincone said there was an “active case” on Ravizza when asked about an alleged restraining order, but referred The Times to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office. Danielle Whitney, the DA spokesperson, declined to comment. 

It is unclear when he and a man who was frequently with him — and whom Ravizza has introduced as his father — arrived on the Island, renting a property and claiming to have a longtime connection to the community. It was also unclear if the name he used, Jared Ravizza, was his real name or an assumed identity. Dukes County court records show that on April 2, a petition was filed by a Jared Ravizza Jones to change his name to Jared Jones. It is unclear where that case stands.

Ravizza is tied to past incidents on Martha’s Vineyard. -MV Times file photo

The MV Times published a story in December 2021 about a Jared Ravizza, who appears to be the same person. He was a self-described seasonal resident who claimed to be running a charitable organization called Ravizza Global Initiative. He told the reporter that he had a long history of coming to the Cape and Islands since his childhood. 

At the time, Ravizza was quoted in the article talking about his family’s connection to the Island, saying, “We spend a lot of time on the Vineyard, in Massachusetts, and I just want people to know the accessibility to me … I also hope this story will inspire someone to start an initiative of their own … maybe you’re someone on the Vineyard and you want to start helping people,” he said. “For us, it’s not like a program. I look at it as a movement and lifestyle, and an initiative we do to change people’s lives, to inspire people. It’s a lifelong connection, lifelong relationship, being there, being a mentor.”

 

44 COMMENTS

  1. Anyone looking into this persons social media accounts and postings would clearly see what the problem is. But our society has accepted and normalized such bizarre behavior and canceled those who point out the obvious. Well, the chickens have come home to roost.

    • Based on his media accounts what actions should have been taken?
      Based on Trump’s media accounts what actions have be taken?

  2. I’m still looking for a report on Saturday’s stabbing on-island. The Gazette covered it on the front page; where’s the Times report?

  3. This 2021 article seems rather…thin on facts. Isn’t it odd? Does MVTimes let people pay for placement?

  4. “The MV Times published a story in December 2021 about a Jared Ravizza, who appears to be the same person.”

    So y’all just wrote a puff piece for this rando while residents have hostile interactions with him? It seems like you owe your readers an explanation for that story and how it came to pass.

    • MVT does not owe anyone anything.
      They are a private entity.
      Should newspapers be run by the government?

  5. ok — can we take a look at the real problem here ? This guy has an obvious
    history of mental illness. So let me opine without any evidence that this guy
    could not get a gun under Mass. laws. But– maybe– if he were a mentally ill sociopath
    living in Texas, there could very well be 4 or more dead young women who died from
    gunshot wounds. He apparently, according to the article, has a history of violent behavior– If he were in Arizona, he would have been able to carry an AR 15 into the movie theater and kill 20 or 30 innocent people. I don’t know of course, but I think , given his violent history and obvious mental health issues he would have been denied a permit to carry in this state.But not some others– We can’t ban knives, but we can offer psychological counseling to mentally ill people who have deranged thoughts about murdering random innocent people.
    Is that too much to ask ?

    • With an unhinged nut-case like this guy, “psychological counseling” is a joke. Why are you talking guns in TX or AZ, when he had a knife in MA and CT? You sound like many national TV anchors who speak in “technically-ese” …’If he had money, lived in MI, and went into a Gun Store, he might have bought an .38 and then gone out and shot/killed 27 people.’ Yes, technically that’s possible, but….so what?? “Just the facts, ma’am”, as Jack Webb used to say. Oops – made a mistake: In this case, Webb would say: “Just the facts, ma’am or sir”.

      • Isabella– I am merely stating that I am happy this guy
        couldn’t get a gun in this state if he wanted one.
        I think we can all agree that a nutcase can do
        more damage with a gun than a knife.
        I think that might fall into the realm of “fact”.
        But you know, after every mass murder someone
        commits with a gun, the 2A zealots claim that
        “this is not the time to talk about gun control
        we need to send thought and prayers”
        Well, maybe this is the time to talk about it,
        since there was no gun and no one died in this incident.
        We haven’t had a gun related mass murder of more than
        4 people in over a month !

      • “So what”? It is possible to kill a person, or even several people, with a knife. But it’s impossible to kill, to take a non-random example, 19 children and 2 adults in just a few minutes with a knife. Or, to take another non-random example, 10 shoppers at a Buffalo supermarket. Or, yet another, nine Bible study participants at an AME church in Charleston, SC. I could go on but is it really necessary?

        As to “psychological counseling” — it can indeed be helpful when the client is willing, the counselor is capable, and enough time is allowed to make a difference. These conditions too often don’t exist. I wish adequate mental health care were available to everybody, but since it isn’t, restricting access to firearms may be the best we can do to minimize the lives lost to this kind of violence.

        I do di

        • He’s lucky someone didn’t shoot him all so sad. Mental illness is real but why didn’t his parents do more if he was diagnosed with mental illness. They should have known what he was capable of!

      • Just think how many people he could have mowed down with a gun, thank God for Massachusetts gun laws.

        • Albert, totally agree with you!
          I’ve known over 20 people who have been killed by accident or suicide by a “peacemaker” and ZERO instances where families were defending themselves.
          A family member was in the middle of one of those mass shootings where over 30 people were shot.

    • Don, federal law prohibits violent and drug abusers the ability to purchase guns. A NICS check is required in all states where guns are sold in stores. This is what Hunter Biden is being charged under. Falsifying his ATF form. But yes we need to do more with the mentally ill, but you will soon see that we can’t call this person mentally ill for because of the pronouns they use.

      • You forgot to mention gun shows and sales between two persons, where NICS checks are waived. You should also mention Trump, in order to please his MAGA base, wants to keep this insane policy intact.

        • Mark I didn’t forget to mention gun shows or private sales as I was responding to Keller’s claim that he could walk into a gun store and buy a gun. He couldn’t. As for gun shows most people selling guns there are dealers and they are still required to perform a NICS check. Individual are not required in some states. In NJ any transfer of firearms must go through a licensed dealer. Personally as a 2A guy I think anyone transferring a firearm to another (except family) should be required to perform your own NICS check. Simply log into ATF with the purchasers identifiers and wait for a green light or red light with a confirmation number. Simple. But the Dems and ACLU did want civilians having access to do the check and squashed it. The system is designed to keep it political.

      • Carl– Isabella criticized me for mentioning guns
        in a story about knives…. I wonder if she will criticize
        you for bringing in “pronouns” ?
        Besides, it’s not pride month yet.
        You can wait a few more days to criticize people for their
        gender and sexual preferences.

        • Don, I was kind of being a wise guy but also not. Many psychologists and other mental health professionals have opined that the LGBTQ has a high rate of mental issues. Since they are protected class people are ignoring obvious problems within this community because they don’t want to be labeled homophonic or transphobic. You said this person was mentally ill now that they committed a crime. Most people could see that there were issues before this crime. That’s a problem where you can’t have an honest conversation without someone being triggered. Facts.

      • Hunter Biden was mentally ill and we just got lucky he did not shoot anyone after all the drug induced behavior of his. I hope he still is seeing counseling as his behavior still seems bizarre. As they say the apple does not fall far from the tree. Island ties is a much better headline than what other news programs are calling him.

    • Do you really think a person like this couldn’t buy a gun on the black market anywhere in the country? That’s foolish. To extrapolate his method of attacking people would have been far worse if he lived in a state that you so abhor is sophomoric.

      • Every unincarcerated person in this country can buy a gun, for cash.
        They are much cheaper in Texas, so many people are willing to sell guns, for cash.

    • You are using whataboutism to defend the attempted murderer and inserting your preferred world view (a fantasy) on what would have been.
      In my preferred world view, parents would be responsible and go places with their kids and have the time off from working so hard to have been there when their daughters were stabbed. In my preferred world, mom or dad would have been there and been allowed to be legally armed (without having to be their police chief) and would have taken the guy out when he pulled a knife and attempted to stab the first daughter. In my preferred world this nutcase would have been in a mental ward based on their previous actions. In my preferred world, this person would not her been allowed access to unfettered hormones that would have made their shakey mental state even worse. Your friend in the white house has had three and a half years to fix these issues but has done nothing but make our actual world a more dangerous place with even more nut cases roaming around our (country citizens and non citizens). I bet if you asked the parents of the wounded what was worse, ten January Sixes or one attempted slaughtering of their whole offspring, they’d pick the former. It is clear to me that people who suffer from TDS, like yourself, would prefer both, if only it would help your candidate get reelected.

      • I agree Biden has done nothing for this country and the ones hiding behind the scenes coaching Biden.

  6. Don, I hear you and as a retired mental health professional I see two missed opportunities here. The first being that he wasn’t remanded to a psych hold after assaulting his father and on police request. The second occurred when the judge gave him a diversion. A court ordered evaluation could have prevented this past weekends events.

    • Maybe the parents should have signed him in and got him help they new his mental state and didn’t do anything

      • Loved ones cannot “sign-in” an adult patient for anything. Patients have more rights than victims. Calling the police on a violent person is all they can do— and pray, even when there is all this evidence of physical abuse. For mentally ill, unemployed males who are not white, wealthy, driving a Porsche, platinum blond, and living in a coddled environment like the Vineyard, the violent person can often end up injured or dead from a knee on his neck.

      • I don’t think you realize how hard it is to get someone involuntarily committed. Parents can’t just “sign him in.” They have to go to court, and seeing that a doctor couldn’t find grounds to do that in the middle of a violent incident, it is unlikely the parents would have been successful. These multiple tragedies stem from the fact that the mental health system is a debacle. These disasters will keep happening until the laws are revised and the sector gets proper resources so that people in psychosis can be safely cared for.

  7. This is so completely appalling, especially that the “mental health” evaluation of this dangerous person at the MV Hospital – after he attacked his “therapist” father and trashed his dad’s office (where is he as his son’s guardian in all this?) – was allowed back into a community that he clearly had no connection to (this father-and-son duo apparently came from Springfield via Agawam, and washed ashore on the Vineyard for, what, its cachet? This bizarre, scary person had previously caused fear for people at places like the Yoga Barn. The people who were killed and injured by this guy are victims of UNBELIEVABLY IRRESPONSIBLE inaction by the father and the MV hospital!! You know where this individual is now? In Bridgewater State … AND he has been identified as THE suspect in the stabbing murder of a 70-yr-old man he was hanging with at an AirBNB in Connecticut. The Vineyard community should have an emergency, island-wide meeting about how it is going to protect its children and adults from random weirdos not of the charming lefty variety who present a known threat to people’s life and liberty. What happened here is the very definition of a terror threat; and it comes on the heels of other criminal activity imported to the Vineyard from the mainland, such as bank robbers and drug dealers. A game plan for vigilance is needed, versus the lame “tolerance” of sociopaths that is unfortunately all too common in American society, leading to avoidable tragedies causing a ripple effect of horror for our fellow citizens. As folks have noted in this thread, it is “relatively fortunate” this person did not have a gun; but what he did with a knife took one life and traumatized six others. UNACCEPTABLE!

    • When did I.N. Baldwina washashore?
      Who should be at the Island wide meeting?
      Mental health professionals?
      From the hospital?

      “Criminal activity imported from the mainland”. When “Islanders” commit crimes on the mainland is the Island exporting crime?

  8. Not being able to buy a gun legally does not always stop people from acquiring guns. Let’s focus on the facts of the case. Whether prison or a mental institution, he should be put away for a long time.

    • So agree it’s not hard to get a gun if you want one bad enough on the black market. This is not about gun rights.

  9. It’s very easy to call an identified mentally ill person an “unhinged nut-case”. Imagine if we called people arrested for DUIs, “drunken bums”. Half the island would be “drunken bums”. Or cancer patients, “skeletal, bald ghouls” It’s not cool among those who claim they’re compassionate and “all about love” to treat all people with respect. You have to discriminate to determine who deserves respectful language, especially if you’re a liberal. They’ll tell you who to hate and dehumanize.

    It would be helpful if there was a follow-up article for islanders, one that spends less time describing a perpetrator’s hairdo, and more time explaining what a family member is to do if they see a loved one having a break from reality. Is there nothing to do but call the police, but only if the person becomes violent? Surely there were signs of a needed intervention well before the attacks took place. How do you help mentally ill people and prevent them from going off the deepest end? Do you just sit and wait and pray? I am afraid the answer is that you can do nothing if the person is an adult, but I hope I am wrong.

    Offering mental health counselling to this person would be like offering a band-aid for a bullet wound.

  10. Is the MV Times now prepared to admit the December 27, 2021 “being a mentor” article by Brian Dowd, , was a completely false presentation to the public?
    The Times stood in a unique opportunity, if they bothered to look for and present the truth about this Ravizza guy, to possibly save lives.
    Instead the public interest test was failed miserably.
    When will we see the apologies and corrections? It is the least you can do for the 4 victims who are still alive.
    https://www.mvtimes.com/2021/12/27/ravizza-being-there-being-a-mentor/

    • Thank you for your hindsight.
      When did you know this guy should be locked up?
      What did you you do about it?

  11. These folks have little social support, are often underinsured, and have complex mental disorders for which there are not always effective treatments. Medications have notoriously vast adverse side effects, compliance is poor, therapists are scarce to come by, hospital beds are inadequate, outside treatment programs limited and underfunded.
    We’ve not “normalized “ these illnesses. This is not a red state/blue state concern. We’re wholly unequipped to help these PEOPLE.

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