A 22-year-old man has been charged in connection to a brutal stabbing attack after four people were killed and seven others were wounded in Rockford, Illinois, Wednesday afternoon.
Police said that the man, who will not be named per Daily Wire policy, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of home invasion with a dangerous weapon, CBS News reported. The man allegedly stabbed some of his victims and beat others with a baseball bat. Those who were killed ranged in age from 15 to 63.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley alleged that the suspect began his rampage, which lasted for 20 minutes, by fatally stabbing his childhood friend and his friend’s mother before stabbing a USPS mail carrier and running him over with his pickup truck.
The man allegedly killed a 15-year-old girl and seriously wounded another young woman by stabbing her in the face and hands before police arrested him. A good Samaritan also jumped in to protect the woman from the suspect and sustained stab wounds, but was “fine,” according to Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana. Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said the teenage girl “died saving her sister and friend, protecting them from further harm.”
“We don’t have a clear motive in regard to what caused this individual to commit such heinous crimes,” Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd said on Wednesday, according to CNN.
Henley said that the man told detectives in an interview that he had smoked marijuana that was laced with an unknown drug, which made him go on the killing rampage. A woman who identified herself as the suspect’s mother told NBC News that she is stunned by the violence allegedly committed by her son.
“He’s a loving person and he has never hurt anybody before,” the woman said. “We don’t know what happened. He’s not an aggressive person. This is all shocking to us. … We never felt threatened with him.”
Police said that no other attackers were involved in the rampage. The suspect is being held in Winnebago County jail and was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.
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Rockford is home to nearly 150,000 people and is 80 miles northwest of Chicago.
“It’s hard to grasp how this could happen and how emotional and raw the community is tonight,” the mayor said. “As a dad, a son, a husband, the Mayor and a Rockford supporter, my heart is breaking for those who have lost their lives, their families and our community.”