A 30-year-old Seattle man is being held without bail at the Whatcom County Jail after Bellingham police say he stabbed another man he had just met minutes earlier in the heart of downtown. The attack sent the victim to the hospital with wounds to his arm and leg, and touched off a search that stretched across several downtown blocks before officers tracked the suspect down.
Bellingham police officers responded to a stabbing report on E. Holly Street just before 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, according to My Bellingham Now. Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy said officers were called to the report, and when they arrived they found a person who appeared to have stab wounds to the arm and legs, per the outlet's account. Separately, bellinghamherald.com reported that officers were dispatched around 12:54 p.m. Saturday to the 100 block of E. Holly Street and found a man stabbed in his arm and leg.
The victim told police he was stabbed by a stranger he had met just 10 minutes earlier, according to My Bellingham Now's reporting. The Bellingham Herald similarly reported that the victim told officers he had been stabbed by a stranger whom he met about 10 minutes prior. The victim's two stab wounds required emergency care at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, and the Bellingham Herald likewise reported that the victim was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham for treatment.
Suspect Slipped Away Before Being Caught
Officers used the victim's description and surveillance footage to try to locate the attacker, My Bellingham Now reported. At one point, according to the Bellingham Herald, police found a man matching the suspect's description walking on E. Maple Street, but he left the area before officers could make contact with him.
Officers ultimately located the suspected attacker about an hour and a half after the stabbing on N Forest Street, per My Bellingham Now's account. The Bellingham Herald's reporting indicates that additional interviews following that initial, unsuccessful contact allowed officers to identify the suspect as the 30-year-old Seattle man.
Booked on Suspicion of First-Degree Assault
The man, whose last known residence was in Seattle, was arrested that afternoon and booked into the Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault, the Bellingham Herald reported. He remains held at the jail without bail, according to My Bellingham Now. Readers can check current bookings and the jail roster through Whatcom County's own Inmate Databases page.
Saturday's stabbing echoes another violent incident in downtown Bellingham from June 2025, when police responded to an assault in the 600 block of Dupont Street and found a 39-year-old man with two stab wounds to his back, according to cascadiadaily.com. That victim was also transported to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center with serious injuries and was expected to recover, the outlet reported. Police in that case arrested an 18-year-old Everett man and a 25-year-old Bellingham man on suspicion of first-degree assault, both booked into the Whatcom County Jail the same afternoon, with the younger suspect also facing a drug possession allegation after a search turned up suspected cocaine on him.
