4 People Stabbed on Amtrak Train Departing from Chicago

Four people were stabbed Friday night on a Michigan-bound Amtrak train from Chicago. Police in Niles, MI, shot a 44-year-old Saginaw, MI, man with a stun gun during the attack and took him into custody.

Michael Darnell Williams, 44, is behind bars on a $1 million bail and faces charges of assault with intent to murder.

Two of the victims were in surgery late Friday. A female passenger, two male passengers and a male Amtrak conductor were among the wounded. Their conditions ranged from serious to critical, police said, but as of Saturday morning all are listed in stable condition.

WWMT in Kalamazoo reports that Williams was behaving oddly, prompting police to board the train. When police arrived, the man was already attacking passengers. The police subdued the attacker with a Taser.

The attack took place shortly after 6 p.m. Central time, according to police. What motivated the attack is not known at this time.

“It was terrifying and you don’t think something like that is going to happen to you,” said Caitlin Cipri, who was in the car and witnessed the attack. She spoke with reporters Friday night. She heard screaming, looked up and saw the man thrusting at another passenger. At first, she thought he was punching, then she saw the knife. “It’s terrifying that things like this happen.”

According to a statement from Amtrak, “Train 364 is the Blue Water service that travels daily between Chicago and Port Huron. The train was heading to Port Huron at time of incident. Amtrak is working to arrange alternate transportation for 172 passengers.”

Witnesses say passengers in the car where the stabbings took place were removed from the train for the police investigation. The rest of the passengers sat in their seats. Another train was dispatched to carry some of them to their destination. Train 364 departed Niles at 1:20 a.m. Saturday with the remainder of the passengers.

Jason Evans, 33, of East Lansing texted this note to Freep.com as they departed: “I’ll exhale once I see the Capitol Building -- lol,” looking forward to his destination in East Lansing.

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Evans said: “The Salvation Army came out with hot cocoa, and then the Niles police brought us pizza – that was a nice gesture on their part – and they brought bottled water for us, too.”

photo capture via Twitter / Chris Maynard of Chicago

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