Pictured: ‘Knifeman’, 22, charged after four people were killed including girl, 15, and mailman, during a 20-minute bloody rampage in suburban Illinois that started as a home invasion
The man accused of slaughtering four people and wounding others during a brutal rampage in Illinois on Wednesday has been charged with multiple counts of murder, attempted murder and home invasion.
Christian Ivan Soto, 22, was arrested at the Winnebago County Jail in the early hours of Thursday, about 12 hours after the bloody killing spree began.
A total of four people died, including a 15-year-old girl and a 49-year-old postman. The other victims were a 22-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman.
Witnesses described Soto as “bloodied” and “resisting arrest” as he was led away by arresting officers.
At a news conference in the wake of the horror, the local police chief said investigators had not discovered a “clear motive” for the bloodshed that took place about 90 miles west of Chicago.
Police in the area responded to a series of locations after receiving a call about a burglary at 1:14 p.m. From there, a manhunt began, with the suspect being arrested in the area at 1:35 p.m.
One victim, who survived, was stabbed in the face as she tried to escape the crazed attacker.
A 22-year-old man named Christian Ivan Soto was booked into a local Rockford jail hours after the attack on multiple murder charges
A 22-year-old man is in custody in connection with the crime. He has not yet been identified, nor has a motive been publicly released for the horrific attacks in sleepy Rockford, Illinois
Not all victims found at multiple addresses in the city had stab wounds and no one was shot
Police later identified the victims as a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman, a 49-year-old man and a 22-year-old man. Their names were not released
Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while one later died at a local hospital.
Five other people were rushed to local hospitals to be treated for their injuries. Four were released as one person continues to be treated in serious condition.
βWe are reeling as a community from another senseless act of violence,β Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara told the media in the wake of the tragedy.
A local resident, Eric Patterson, told the Rockford Register star that he saw two teenagers bloodied from an attack and a middle-aged woman being taken away in an ambulance.
Patterson said the mailman was run over by a pickup truck. Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd previously confirmed that not all of the victims had been stabbed, but that none had been shot
βWe have no clear motive as to why this individual committed such heinous crimes,β the chief added.
Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana told media that one of the victims was stabbed as they tried to prevent the attacker from fleeing the area. That person is not among the dead.
βThe young lady ran from him. She had several stab wounds in her hands and face. She is currently in a hospital and intubated. She is in serious condition,β he said.
Caruana said one of the victims was a “young woman” who walked away from a house the attacker had broken into.
Rockford has a population of approximately 150,000 and is located 90 miles northwest of Chicago
An officer rolls out police tape Wednesday as the investigation into the quadruple homicide continues
Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd told media that investigators have “no clear motive” for the heinous crime
‘It does not make any sense. It’s almost like playing a video game, but it’s reality. It does not make any sense. It’s like Grand Theft Auto. I’m going to hit the mailman here,” said a neighbor
Vanessa Hy, who lives in the community, described the scene as police descended on the sleepy town.
‘Suddenly we heard the police rushing from both sides of the house shouting, ‘Stop! Go downstairs!’ Then they ran into the backyard and after a few minutes we saw them bringing the suspect into the driveway in handcuffs and he was very bloody,β Hy told WREX-TV.
‘It does not make any sense. It’s almost like playing a video game, but it’s reality. It does not make any sense. It’s like Grand Theft Auto. I’m going to hit the mailman here,β Patterson said.
βI’m going to stab some people there. I’m going to this house here. There is no point. You cannot rationalize this,β he added.
Another resident, Cassandra Hernandez, paid tribute to their postman, calling him a “very good man.”
Resident Ruth Gallagher called the postman ‘the nicest person’ in an interview CBS Chicago.
βHe would help anyone; would step in and help – always friendly. We will miss him,β she added.
βIt’s hard to fathom how this could have happened and how emotional and raw the community is tonight. βAs a father, son, husband, mayor and supporter of Rockford, my heart breaks for those who lost their lives, their families and our community,β the mayor said in a Facebook post.
Redd said residents in the area were asked to review their home surveillance camera footage for anything related to the attacks.
Rockford has a population of approximately 150,000 and is located 90 miles northwest of Chicago. The violence Wednesday came days after a teenage Walmart worker in Rockford was stabbed and killed inside the store.