The man accused of slaughtering four people and injuring 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 booked into Winnebago County Jail in the early hours of Thursday, around 12 hours after the bloody killing spree began.
In total, four people are dead, including a 15-year-old girl and a 49-year-old mailman. The other victims were a 22-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman.
Witnesses described Soto as being ‘bloodied’ and ‘resisting arrest’ as he was hauled away by arresting officers.
During a press conference in the aftermath of the horror, the local police chief said that investigators had not uncovered a ‘clear motive’ for the bloodshed that occurred around 90 miles west of Chicago.
Police in the area responded to a series of locations at 1:14pm after receiving calls about a burglary. From there, a manhunt began resulting in the suspect being arrested in the vicinity at 1:35pm.
One victim, who survived, was stabbed in the face as she tried to escape the deranged attacker.
A 22-year-old man named Christian Ivan Soto was booked into a local jail in Rockford on multiple counts of murder hours after the attack
A 22-year-old man is in custody in relation to the crime. He has not been identified nor has a motive been released publicly for the horrific attacks in sleepy Rockford, Illinois
Not all of the victims found at multiple addresses in the city had stab wounds and none were shot
Police later identified those 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, one died later at a local hospital.
Five other people were rushed to local hospitals to be treated for injuries, four were released as one person is still being treated in serious condition.
‘We are reeling as a community from another senseless act of violence,’ Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara told the media in the aftermath of the tragedy.
One local, 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 that the mailman was run over by a pick up truck. Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd earlier confirmed that not all of the victims were stabbed but none were a shot
‘We don’t have a clear motive in regard to what caused this individual to commit such heinous crimes,’ the chief added.
Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana told the media that one of the victims was stabbed as they tried to stop the attacker from fleeing the area. That person is not among those killed.
‘She young lady ran from him. She got some stab wounds in her hands and in her face. She is currently at a hospital, and she is intubated. She is in serious condition,’ he said.
Caruana said another of the victims was a ‘young female’ who ran from a home that the attacker broke into.
Rockford’s population is about 150,000 and it’s 90 miles (145 kilometers) miles northwest of Chicago
An officer rolls out police tape on Wednesday as the investigation into the quadruple homicide continues
Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd told the media that investigators have ‘no clear motive’ for the horrific crime
‘It makes no sense. t’s almost like playing a video game, but it’s reality. It makes no sense. It’s like Grand Theft Auto. I’m going to run over the mailman here,’ one neighbor said
Vanessa Hy, who lives in the community, described the scene when the cops descended on the sleepy town.
‘All of a sudden, we heard police run up on both sides of the house screaming: “Stop! Get down!” Then they ran into the backyard and after a few minutes we saw them bringing the suspect down the driveway in handcuffs and he was very bloody,’ Hy told WREX-TV.
‘It makes no sense. t’s almost like playing a video game, but it’s reality. It makes no sense. It’s like Grand Theft Auto. I’m going to run over the mailman here,’ Patterson said.
‘I’m going to stab a couple people there. I am going to go in this house over here. It’s not making sense. You can’t rationalize this,’ he added.
Another resident, Cassandra Hernandez, paid tribute to their mail man calling him a ‘very good man.’
Resident Ruth Gallagher called the mailman ‘the kindest person’ in an interview with CBS Chicago.
‘He would help anybody; would step in and help – always friendly. We will miss him,’ she added.
‘It’s hard to grasp how this could happen and how emotional and raw the community is tonight. 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,’ the mayor said in a Facebook post.
Redd said residents in the area were being asked to review their home surveillance camera footage for anything related to the attacks.
Rockford’s population is about 150,000 and it’s 90 miles (145 kilometers) miles northwest of Chicago. The violence Wednesday came days after a teenage employee of a Walmart in Rockford was stabbed and killed inside the store.
