SEATTLE — A suspect is in custody Friday after at least nine people were stabbed in Seattle in a 38-hour span in random attacks, police said.

The most recent stabbings, in which five people were attacked Friday, happened in the 1200 block of South Jackson Street, Seattle police said.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, is believed to be connected to several of the recent stabbing incidents, Seattle Police Deputy Chief Eric Barden told reporters at a news conference.

Four of the five victims who were attacked Friday were taken to a local hospital in varying conditions, including one who still had a knife in them, Barden said. A fifth victim was treated and released at the scene, police said.

A man matching the description provided by witnesses was located nearby and taken into custody without incident, Barden said. A gun was also found near the suspect, he said.

“This is a horrific tragedy, a mass casualty event,” Barden said.

In addition to the five victims in this incident, five other people are believed to have been stabbed in the area over a period of about 38 hours, according to Seattle police.

The suspect is believed to be connected to four of those stabbings, while one is still under investigation, police said.

The first incident occurred early Thursday, in which a 52-year-old woman was stabbed eight times, police said.

Three other stabbing incidents involving male victims occurred Thursday, police said. Two of the victims were stabbed multiple times. The other victim told police the attacker tried to stab him in the chest, but he was able to block the attack, although he suffered a cut to his hand, police said. The victim’s cell phone was also stolen, police said.

Another stabbing occurred early Friday, when a victim was found bleeding “profusely from the neck” and taken to a local hospital in serious condition, police said.

Barden said that beyond the robbery incident, the stabbings appeared to be “just random attacks.”

“This incident was apparently one individual over a 38-hour period who committed random attacks. This is an aberration. This is not the norm at all,” Barden said. “With a suspect in custody, I think we’re back to normal.”