A 31-year-old man was arrested Thursday afternoon after police say he stabbed a teenage girl in a Dollar Tree in Hyannis.
Nikolas Rescigno, of Hyannis, is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon with serious bodily injury, Barnstable Police said in a statement. He also has an outstanding warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in court in connection with another incident involving a knife at the Cape Cod Mall in May of 2023, police said.
At around 12:38 p.m. on Thursday, police say Rescigno approached a teenage girl from behind in the foyer of the Dollar Tree, where he, without warning, stabbed her in the lower backside while she stood next to her mother. Rescigno does not know the girl and the stabbing appears to be random and unprovoked, police said.
Witnesses told police they saw Rescigno in the foyer staring at the girl. He eventually dropped the knife at the request of a bystander.
The girl was taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, police said.
Rescigno is set to be arraigned in Barnstable District Court on Friday.
