Michigan man charged with attempted murder in Amtrak stabbings

A 44-year-old Michigan man has been charged with four counts of attempted murder after he slashed several people aboard an Amtrak train in Michigan, police said Saturday.

Michael Darnell Williams of Saginaw was arrested after officers used a stun gun to subdue him aboard the train in Niles, according to a statement from the Niles Police Department.

Officers were contacted by Amtrak around 7 p.m. on Friday and asked to confront a passenger who was “acting odd and becoming agitated” aboard the train, police said.

When the train pulled into the Niles station in southwest Michigan, officers were met by a crush of a passengers attempting to flee the train. There were 172 people aboard the train, according to Amtrak.

Officers managed to board and found Williams brandishing a knife. An officer fired a stun gun and quickly arrested him.

Four people suffered cuts and stab wounds, including a train conductor, but the victims were all listed in stable condition on Saturday, according to the statement.

Niles Police Chief James Millin told the Los Angeles Times that Williams attacked his victims after the train had stopped in Michigan. He did not know any of the victims, and was found wielding a six-inch blade, Millin said.

Williams “had some prior run-ins with the law,” according to Millin, who did not discuss specific previous arrests. Millin said a motive in the attacks remains unclear.

Williams boarded the train in Chicago and was planning to arrive in Flint, Mich., police said. He was charged Saturday and is being held at Berrien County Jail in lieu of $1-million cash bond.

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