Victims of an overnight stabbing spree say a Colorado Springs man licked his finger and rubbed his saliva in the shape of a cross over potential targets who told him they believed in Jesus Christ before continuing his rampage that wounded eight.

Rene Miller was arrested Monday on suspicion of six counts of first-degree attempted criminal murder, two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of menacing, court records show.

Eight people were wounded in the mile-and-a-half rampage, which stretched from 8th Street and U.S. 24 on the city’s west side to the heart of downtown Colorado Springs.

Several victims told police that Miller, 38, approached them and asked if they were Christians. Only sometimes did their answers spare them from attack, court documents stated.

According to court documents:

About 1:30 a.m., Miller approached a couple beneath the I-25 bridge on Cimarron Street and asked if they were Christians. They both said yes, but when Miller tried to rub saliva on the husband’s forehead and the husband slapped his hand away, Miller pulled out a knife from behind his body.

The man’s wife stepped between the two and told Miller to stop. Miller turned around and asked the couple again if they were Christians, before continuing down the trail.

In the same area, Miller asked another couple the same question. When a 20-year-old woman told Miller she wasn’t a Christian, Miller turned to her fiancé and said: “I have to kill her.”

Her fiancé, who had previously told Miller he believed in Jesus Christ, shoved Miller back and his knife sliced his left ear. Miller stabbed the woman in her right jaw, which required surgery to mend.

About 40 minutes later, near Boulder and Tejon streets, Miller allegedly identified himself as Jesus Christ to a 29-year-old man and his friend. He asked if they “accepted him as their lord and savior,” the documents stated.

When the friend responded yes, Miller thanked him, licked his finger and marked a cross on his forehead.

The 29-year-old man said he was undecided and told Miller he did not want to be licked. Miller stabbed him seven times — three times in the upper back, twice in his left tricep, once in his left shoulder and near his left armpit.

As of Tuesday evening, two of the seven people taken to UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central after the attacks remained hospitalized, said Cary Vogrin, a hospital spokeswoman. She could not provide information on their conditions.

Miller’s bond was set at $50,000 and as of Wednesday morning, he remained in the El Paso County Jail, online records show.

This is a developing story. Stay with gazette.com for updates.