Accused knifeman arrested after being pepperballed and beanbagged

A man was arrested in the early morning of November 7 on suspicion of stabbing another man on Peace Portal Drive under the I-5 overpass. It took two hours for about 17 law enforcement officers to get the suspect, who refused to identify himself, to surrender. 

Blaine Police Department (BPD) officers received a call at 12:11 a.m. November 7 from a man who said another male had stabbed him near the Peace Portal Drive I-5 overpass, according to BPD’s case summary. A witness also reported the incident to 911.

The victim told police he had tried talking to the man when the man began stabbing him, according to BPD. The victim, who police said had defensive wounds, described the knife as being 1-foot long. 

North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR) assisted with aid on scene and transported the victim to St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, where he arrived around 1:15 a.m., NWFR chief Jason van der Veen said. 

The police found the suspect underneath I-5 shortly after contacting the victim. BPD sergeant Tim Richardson said in addition to two Blaine officers, about five U.S. Border Patrol agents, three Bellingham Police Department officers, three Washington State Patrol troopers and four Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office officers with a K-9 responded. SWAT was later called and arrived as the man was arrested at 2:13 a.m. 

Richardson said the man brandished two knives, each over 1-foot long, at officers and the K-9 as they tried to talk him into surrendering. Officers first tried pepperballs and, after those didn’t work, used less-lethal beanbag rounds, Richardson said. The man surrendered about five minutes after the bean bags were deployed. 

The man had bloodstains on his clothing that did not appear to be his, according to BPD’s case summary, and a trail of blood was found in the area. 

The man was booked into Whatcom County Jail for first-degree assault and resisting arrest, according to jail booking data. He is being held without bail. 

Jail staff ran the man’s fingerprints after he refused to give his name to officers, but haven’t identified him yet, Richardson said. BPD officers were familiar with the suspect, who was known to spend time under the overpass, Richardson said. BPD has received several calls regarding mental health issues for the man, but not for anything violent, he added. 

“We’re glad that everything resolved itself safely and that we were able to safely put him in custody,” Richardson said.