Suspect at large after unprovoked stabbing in Seattle's Little Saigon

A 22-year-old man was stabbed Sunday night in an unprovoked attack in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District neighborhood, police say. The stabbing occurred within a block of a corner deemed so dangerous that county buses no longer stop there.

Seattle police responded around 6:40 p.m. on Sunday to reports of a stabbing in the 1200 block of South Jackson Street in the Little Saigon area of the Chinatown-International District.

Officers found a victim who had been stabbed in the lower back. He was transported to Harborview Medical Center in serious but stable condition.

Witnesses reported that a woman wearing a black shirt and carrying a brown bag approached the victim, punched him, stabbed him, and fled south on foot.

Police were unable to locate the suspect, who remained at large Monday afternoon. Police did discover a knife at the scene that has been taken in as evidence.

Seattle detectives said Monday that investigation remains “open and active” and the case has been assigned to the SPD’s Homicide & Assault Unit.

“No more information/details regarding the suspect’s identity,” Detective Eric Muñoz said via email. “No arrests have been made.”

The victim has since been discharged from Harborview in stable condition, Munõz said.

The stabbing occurred in the same area where a man randomly stabbed 10 people over the course of two days in November. No deaths were reported in connection with that stabbing spree and a suspect was arrested in the case.

RELATED: Seattle police arrest suspect following 'arbitrary' stabbings of 10 people in Chinatown-International District

King County Metro announced earlier this month that it would indefinitely halt bus service in the Little Saigon area, because of safety concerns near 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street, less than a block from where Sunday's stabbing occurred.

A day after that announcement, 59-year-old Shawn Kim, a veteran Metro bus driver, was fatally stabbed in Seattle’s University District during an altercation with a passenger. Richard Sitzlack, 53, was arrested in connection with Kim’s death.

In the wake of that attack, the union representing Metro transit operators said Kim’s death was part of a larger pattern of violence aimed at bus drivers and passengers.

RELATED: Fatal stabbing of King County Metro bus driver highlights Seattle transit safety concerns

Anyone with information about Sunday's stabbing is asked to contact the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.