TAUNTON, Mass. — The family of a A Taunton man that was
after going on a violent spree said this could have been prevented.
Police say the suspect, 28-year-old Arthur DaRosa,
before continuing his rampage at a nearby mall. There, he assaulted three people in Macy's before stabbing Sheenah Savoy, a waitress in Bertucci's, and fatally stabbing George Heath, who had been dining in the restaurant.
>> READ MORE: 3 killed, including suspect, in Taunton stabbing rampage
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SUSPECT DESCRIBED AS SUICIDAL
According to family members, DaRosa had tried to get help for mental illness just a day before the attack. They say they can't figure out what went wrong.
"The ambulance picked him up at 5 p.m. on Monday and discharged him at 4 a.m. on Tuesday. They didn't treat him for what his sickness was. They treated him for something else," said Liz DaRosa, Arthur DaRosa's aunt.
DaRosa's sister said he called her on Monday, talking manically and claiming the devil was speaking to him. She helped him check into Morton Hospital later that day, and DaRosa was put in the psych ward.
Around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, DaRosa's sister and father found out that he had been released from the hospital.
SUSPECT'S PAST
DaRosa's criminal record shows charges back to 2009, ranging from assault to resisting arrest. In one case, police say he threw a cinder block and chair. He was also charged with beating one of his cousins with a bat. Despite his criminal past, DaRosa's family said he changed after becoming a father.
"He changed his whole life when he had his daughter. I just don't know how," said Liz DaRosa.
Family members said DaRosa was a father to a five-year-old girl and three-year-old boy. DaRosa also had a girlfriend, who is the mother to both children.
"I'm just sorry for the people he did that to. I don't know why and I'm really sorry about that," said Liz DaRosa.
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