Man gets 3 to 6 years in prison for stabbing two in racially motivated attack Downtown

A man accused of stabbing two Black people in downtown Pittsburgh last year in a racially motivated attack will serve at least three years in prison.

Chris Boswell, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of ethnic intimidation, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a weapon on Tuesday stemming from the attack at Sixth Avenue and Smithfield Street on April 13, 2023.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer ordered Boswell to serve three to six years in prison as part of plea agreement to be followed by seven years of probation.

He called Boswell’s crimes “abhorrent.”

“It is a mindset and course of action you engaged in that day that is extremely troubling,” Beemer said. “I hope you understand you could be spending a lot longer in prison.”

Police were called to the intersection of Sixth Avenue at Smithfield Street for a man walking around with a knife trying to stab people just before 11 p.m..

As officers searched for the suspect, they were flagged down by a Black man who reported he had been stabbed in the left arm by a white man with a backpack.

The man’s arm was bleeding heavily, and officers applied a tourniquet.

They were later approached by another Black man who said he had been stabbed in the leg. The victim had a deep stab wound in his upper left thigh.

Both men were taken to local hospitals in stable condition.

When officers approached Boswell, they said he was uncooperative. When he was handcuffed, the criminal complaint said, officers found a knife holster on his right hip. They also found an ivory handled folding knife with blood on the blade about 4 feet away.

When officers spoke to Boswell, who refused to provide his name, he said, “‘I was told to kill all of the Black people,” the complaint said.

Boswell then went on to make other comments, including using racial epithets, and admitting that he stabbed the victims.

When officers put Boswell in the patrol car, he kicked them several times and broke an officer’s watch, the complaint said.

When Boswell was being taken to Allegheny County Jail, police said, he asked if there a lot of Black people there and said, “‘I’ll kill them all.’”

During the sentencing hearing Tuesday, defense attorney William Kaczynski said his client was highly intoxicated the night of the stabbing.

Earlier that night, the attorney said, Boswell had been accosted and had his wallet stolen.

He also had a long history of mental illness.

Now, Kaczynski said, Boswell is on medication, and his behavior in the jail has been good.

“He has also expressed remorse to me,” the attorney said. “He understands it’s a situation where he lost control.”

Boswell has a lengthy criminal history, including arrests in for domestic violence, obstruction, resisting arrest and driving under the influence.