MEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A man accused of stabbing several of his family members with scissors in Medford late Monday night was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation after he faced a judge on Tuesday.
Jace Pietro Cherchi, 22, was arraigned on multiple assault and kidnapping charges after he allegedly assaulted two family members and a neighbor at a home on Doane Road around 9 p.m., according to police.
Officers responding to the scene later searched the home when witnesses indicated Cherchi may still be inside, only to find he had left the area.
His uncle, Alfredo Vilar, told 7NEWS the initial victim was Cherchi’s mother, while two other women stabbed included the suspect’s sister and a neighbor – an attack that has left the family devastated.
“He just went ballistic, I have no idea why he went ballistic,” said Vilar. “He made his mother go for a walk like they normally do and, unbeknownst to us, as soon as she went behind the bush, he started stabbing her. The sister, my niece, who was in my house, came out to try to help her mother and she got stabbed, and a next door neighbor who was walking by tried to intervene and she got stabbed.”
Cherchi was later found at South Station by MBTA Transit Police officers, who detained him before he was transported back to the Medford Police Station.
Officials said the first two stabbing victims suffered what were considered to be “non-life threatening” wounds, while the third victim’s injuries were more serious and required surgery.
His uncle told reporters outside the courthouse that his actions in court, where he kept his eyes closed and spoke to himself, were an act.
Cherchi was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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