STAMFORD — Police arrested a man who they say attacked his elderly mother and two neighbors in their apartment building Tuesday morning.
The fire department was called to an apartment complex at 1633 Washington Blvd., which is across the street from the fire house, at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
It was later learned that Edward Saarel, 50, was staying with his elderly mother when the two got in an argument. He is then said to have assaulted her and threw her to the ground, and as he exited the apartment he pulled the building’s fire alarm, though it was later determined there was no fire. His purpose seems to have been to lure residents from their apartments, who he then is said to have attacked.
Specifically, a 27-year-old woman allegedly exited her apartment due to the alarm and yelled “I know what you did” at Saarel, who then attacked her with a corkscrew and steak knife. She suffered multiple stab wounds.
Saarel then came across a 48-year-old man and began screaming at him before stabbing him in the abdomen. The man wrestled him to the ground, knocked the knife out of his hand, and held him until police arrived. That victim was also taken to the hospital for stab wounds.
Police found a knife and a corkscrew at the scene, as well as many bloody areas.
The fire department across the street reports that it was notified a fire alarm had been activated in the apartment building at 3:26 a.m., and while gearing up a resident approached the fire house and said that two people were fighting in the apartment’s lobby, and one of them had been stabbed.
Fire officials were able to call police dispatch to report the situation, and they were able to describe the scene, which they could see. However, the fire officials did not enter the building until police stabilized the scene.
When police investigated the apartment Saarel shared with his mother, they found it in a “deplorable” state, so Social Services and the Health Department were notified. The mother was taken to the hospital for treatment and was released Tuesday morning.
Saarel was arrested for two counts of assault in the first degree, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief in the fourth degree and assault in the third degree on the elderly. He was held on a $100,000 bond was taken to Stamford Hospital for a psychological evaluation. He will be arraigned at Stamford Superior Court when he is released from the hospital.
