Suspect arrested in fatal Las Vegas mass stabbing was in country illegally, U.S. officials say 

A Guatemalan man charged with stabbing eight people on the Las Vegas strip, two fatally, was in the United States illegally, officials told Just the News.

Yoni Barrios, 32, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the incident Thursday near the Wynn casino.

Barrios appeared in court Friday and was ordered held without bail.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said Barrios was not a U.S. citizen but his status in the country would not affect his decision-making. He said he expected defense lawyers to explore the defendant’s mental health, in that a decision on whether to pursue the death penalty would be made in a few weeks.

“Whether he is a citizen or not, we are going to proceed based upon the evidence in this case,” Wolfson told reporters. “It’s not unusual for a person who is charged with crimes like this, under this scenario,for lawyers to want to look into his mental health status. That would not be a surprise at all.”

U.S. officials told Just the News that Immigration and Customs Enforcement records indicate that Barrios was born in Mexico, had Guatemalan citizenship, and made no lawful entries into United States or requests to enter the country, making him illegally on U.S. soil.

Multiple other news organizations, including Fox News, also reported the Barrios was in the country illegally.

In total eight people were stabbed, two who  later died. The victims included an entertainer, local residents and tourists, officials said.