LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The man accused of stabbing eight people on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, killing two of them, approached a group of showgirl impersonators, told them he was a chef and asked if they would take a picture with him and his knife, according to an arrest report from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
According to the report, Yoni Barrios had arrived in Las Vegas about two days prior from California with plans to move in with a friend. However, according to the report, when he arrived in Las Vegas, the friend told him he couldn’t stay home.
According to the report, Barrios packed his bags and took a bus to the Las Vegas Strip, arriving in the area around 8 a.m. Thursday. According to the report, Barrios told authorities that during the bus ride to the Strip, other passengers laughed at him and that he “wasn’t treated like a human being.”
The report says Barrios went to the mall and asked for “drivers” to drive to California before later driving to the Wynn and speaking with a concierge about job opportunities. Barrios allegedly asked the concierge to contact ICE for him so he could return home to Guatemala, according to the report.
According to the report, Barrios then contacted a security guard at the Wynn and told him he was trying to sell his knives so he could get money to get home. The security guard, according to the arrest report, “told Barrios to jump in front of a train.”
After leaving the Wynn, Barrios allegedly told the group of four showgirl impersonators that he was a chef. The report states that one of the girls felt uncomfortable and started to back away. At that time, the report says Barrios then charged at the girl as she began to run away.
The report says she “felt pressure in her back and fell to the ground.” The girl says she then saw Barrios charging towards Maris Digiovanni, one of the two victims who died in the incident.
The girl said she was able to get up and rushed into the Wynn, where she then realized she had been stabbed in the back, according to the report. She remained at the Wynn until she was transported to UMC, police said.
Barrios told police he “thought the women were making fun of him and making fun of his clothes”. He told authorities he “got angry and stabbed one of the women in the chest, after which he started stabbing the other women in the group as they ran away.”
According to the report, Barrios began running and looking for groups of people so he could “let the anger out.” He told officers he said nothing to the victims when he stabbed them.
The report states that after the incident with the showgirl impersonators, Barrios ran south onto the sidewalk on the west side of the Wynn where he stabbed victim Brent Hallet in the back, killing him.
The report says Barrios then continued running south, where police said “a few feet later” he had stabbed two other people, who were walking with their mother.
Another victim, who was taken to Sunrise Hospital, told police he was sitting on a concrete wall talking on his cellphone when he saw Barrios running towards him with an object to the hand.
The victim told police he thought Barrios had a can of beer and didn’t pay attention to him until Barrios got closer. The man told police he initially thought Barrios hit him in the chest as he ran, but said he then saw blood.
The report says the man was taken to hospital with two stab wounds, one to the chest and the other to the upper abdomen.
Another victim told police he was walking the Strip with his wife when the incident happened. According to the report, the man saw Barrios running towards him with a knife covered in blood.
According to the report, as Barrios walked past him, he said “sorry man” and stabbed him. Barrios then continued running south on Las Vegas Boulevard without stopping.
The man’s wife applied pressure to his wound before police and medics arrived.
According to the report, Barrios told officers he estimated he stabbed about six people before crossing Sands Avenue and threw the knife into some bushes.
Las Vegas police have since confirmed that a total of eight people were stabbed, two of whom died.
The report said: “Barrios said he hoped the officers would shoot him.”
According to the report, police recovered a bloody chef’s knife with a total length of 12 inches. Police note in the report that Barrios saw a photo of the knife and he confirmed it was the one he used.
According to the report, victim Brent Hallett, 47, was pronounced dead at the scene and victim Maris Digiovanni, 30, was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at UMC Trauma. Both Hallett and Digovanni were residents of Las Vegas.
Barrios was incarcerated in the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of murder with a weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a weapon.
Barrios made his first court appearance on Friday and was ordered to remain in custody. He will appear in court again on October 11.
Speaking after court, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he does not believe Barrios is a United States citizen.
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