Abuelazam is an Israeli citizen with ties to Leesburg, Virginia, which is 33 miles outside of Washington D.C. Abuelazam lived in Leesburg at one point, and still has family in the area. He is alleged to have fatally attacked five different men, all within a month. Three of the five fatalities are said to have occurred in Leesburg.
In spite of Leyton's certainty that Abuelazam is, in fact, a serial offender, the Leesburg police have yet to file charges against the suspect. ''We continue to devote lots of time and resources to build and strengthen our cases,'' said Leesburg Police Chief Joseph R. Price. ''And also to build and strengthen the cases that Michigan has brought against him.''
The Leesburg police are looking into a possible connection between Abuelazam and a 2009 homicide in the townhouse complex where he had once lived. They are working on a timeline of the suspect's movements, having searched a car that he once drove.
Currently, Abuelazam is tied to a series of stabbings beginning in May of this year, the last of which happened only days before he was detained. The majority of Abuelazam's victims were in Flint. Three of the 18 stabbings occurred in Leesburg, Va., and one in Toledo, Ohio.
Most of the victims were black, leading authorities in Virginia to believe that the attacks were racially-motivated. Authorities in the other two states where the stabbings occurred did not offer speculation.
Abuelazam's green SUV, which was caught on a surveillance video, was used to link him to the stabbings, according to police.
According to victims who survived the attacks, their attacker asked for directions, or for help with a broken-down vehicle. Then the attacker would suddenly pull a knife out and stab them just before driving away.
