VIDEO: Four Killed and Several Injured in Stabbing Attack That Left Illinois Community Shaken

Police investigate a crime scene where three people were shot at the Wentworth Gardens hou
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Amy Furr

Four people were killed and several others injured in a violent stabbing attack in Rockford, Illinois, on Wednesday that left neighbors reeling.

Local police said one victim was in critical condition and several others were in stable condition after the suspect allegedly stabbed them, NBC News reported Wednesday.

The suspect in the case has been identified as 22-year-old Christian Soto who is expected to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.

Per the NBC report, the names of those killed have not yet been revealed.

However, the victims include a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman, a 49-year-old man, and a 22-year-old man.

Their causes of death and the causes of injury for the survivors remained unclear. According to Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd, not all of the victims were stabbed but none of them were shot.

CBS Chicago reported Thursday that seven individuals were hurt during the incident, noting the violent spree began as a home invasion.

“The attacks continued and first responders were dispatched to several locations across Rockford and the surrounding parts of Winnebago County,” the outlet said:

One of the people killed was a local mail carrier.

According to Fox 32, he was run over before being stabbed. The outlet said the suspect was taken into custody near one of the crime scenes 21 minutes after the first call was made to law enforcement for help.

A reporter for the outlet said a motive remained unclear:

In one of the 911 calls, an official is heard saying, “This is a mass incident involving several people,” per CBS Chicago.

In a social media post Thursday, Channel 3 Now shared an image of the suspect and a list of the charges against him:

Meanwhile, Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara and fellow officials shared their grief over the incident. McNamara said he was “just totally shaken by this act of violence and the impact that it’s having now on multiple families’ lives.”

The NBC article noted that Rockford is located approximately 60 miles northwest of Chicago.

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