2 dead, 6 injured in stabbings outside Las Vegas casino: Police

Two people are dead and six others injured in a stabbing spree outside a Las Vegas casino on Thursday, according to police.

Three victims were in critical conditions and the other three survivors were in stable condition Thursday night, Las Vegas police said.

The victims include both locals and tourists, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said during a press briefing Thursday.

The initial stabbing, which took place around 11:40 a.m. local time, occurred on the sidewalk along Las Vegas Boulevard, Deputy Chief James LaRochelle told reporters. It appears to have been unprovoked, he said.

The suspect then proceeded south and stabbed five more victims, and then an additional victim on Sands Avenue, he said. It's unclear when or where the eighth victim was stabbed.

One victim was pronounced dead at the scene, and a second died after being transported to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, police said.

The two people who died were identified as Brent Allan Hallett, 47, of Las Vegas, and Maris Mareen Digiovanni, 30, of Las Vegas, according to the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner.

The suspect, 32-year-old Yoni Barrios, was taken into custody within a "matter of minutes" by a security guard and police officer after fleeing the scene, police said.

A large kitchen knife used in the incident has been recovered from the scene, police said.

Police believe Barrios acted alone, adding that a motive is unknown.

During questioning by detectives, the suspect allegedly confessed and said he was sorry and acknowledged what he did was wrong, but did not have a coherent explanation, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. Police currently believe the victims were randomly selected, the official said.

Detectives are investigating reports that the suspect said he was a cook, and that prior to the stabbings a group of street performers might have laughed at the suspect when he showed them his knife, according to the official.

Detectives are also seeing if multiple phones the suspect had on him might reveal information about the attack or the suspect’s recent activities, the official said.

Barrios was booked on two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, police said.

He is believed to be from Guatemala and had traveled through Mexico and was in California prior to arriving in Las Vegas, according to the law enforcement source. Authorities are investigating whether he was in the U.S. legally, the source said.

Barrios allegedly has a criminal history in California, including driving under the influence and a domestic violence episode, but nothing that would have made a noticeable risk to the community, the source said.

He is believed to have had a wife and children in California and went to Vegas to stay with a male friend, the source said. Detectives are investigating what that relationship was and seeking out other acquaintances, according to the source.

ABC News' Josh Margolin and Lisa Sivertsen contributed to this report.