A suspect was taken into custody on suspicion of stabbing four girls – ranging from 9 to 17 years old – at a movie theater in Massachusetts before another apparently connected stabbing at a fast food restaurant, authorities said Saturday.

The two attacks happened about an hour apart in different towns and it “appears as though the crimes are related,” Braintree Police said.

The four girls were stabbed without warning in an AMC theater in Braintree around 6 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release from Braintree Police.

“Without saying anything and without any warning, he suddenly attacked and stabbed the four young females. The attack appeared to be unprovoked,” police said. “After the attack, the man ran out of the theater and left in a vehicle.”

The girls were taken to Boston hospitals for treatment of their injuries. All four victims are expected to survive, authorities said.

Police discovered the assailant had left the theater in what appeared to be a black SUV, and video footage allowed authorities to capture its license plate, the release says. A vehicle matching the description was “reportedly involved in similar assault in Plymouth,” which is about a 30-minute drive south of Braintree, police said.

About an hour after the first attack, police were called to a reported stabbing at a McDonald’s in Plymouth, according to a news release from Massachusetts State Police. A 21-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were stabbed and taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

“Preliminary investigation suggests a likely connection to an earlier incident at a movie theatre in Braintree resulting in non-life threatening injuries to four juveniles,” state police said.

Massachusetts State Police chased the vehicle, which ended in a crash in Sandwich, about a 25-minute drive south of Plymouth, according to police.

The suspect, who has not been identified, is being treated at an area hospital, state police said. The investigation remains “active and ongoing” by state and local police, the release said.

The theater was in lockdown shortly after the incident, an AMC employee told CNN.

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