2024 Rockford stabbings

Last updated

2024 Rockford stabbings
Location Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
DateMarch 27, 2024;8 months ago (2024-03-27)
c. 1:14 p.m. – c. 1:35 p.m. [1] (CDT)
Attack type
 Mass stabbing, home invasion, bludgeoning, vehicle-ramming
WeaponsKnife, pickup truck, softball bat
Deaths4 (1 by bludgeoning)
Injured7 (2 by bludgeoning)
AccusedChristian Ivan Soto

On March 27, 2024, four people were killed and seven others were injured in a mass stabbing in and near Rockford, Illinois, with the fatalities entailing two men, a woman, and a 15-year-old girl. A suspect, 22-year-old Christian Ivan Soto, of Rockford, was taken into custody and charged with several counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and home invasion.

Contents

Attacks

During an interview following his arrest, Soto told police that he was friends with one of the victims, a 23-year-old man named Jacob D. Schupbach, and that he had gone to Schupbach's house to smoke marijuana. According to Soto, he became paranoid that the drugs Schupbach gave him were laced with an unknown narcotic, after which he retrieved a knife from the kitchen and fatally stabbed Schupbach, along with his 63-year-old mother, Ramona. Additionally, witnesses reported seeing Soto enter a black Chevrolet Silverado and run over Jacob Schupbach before following him back into the house.

After exiting the home, Soto fatally stabbed Jay P. Larson, a 49-year-old postal worker, whom Soto then ran over twice as he fled in his pickup truck. At a nearby residence, Soto stabbed a woman near her left eye as she opened the door to let their dog out, then wounded her adult son and daughter. Soto reportedly fled after the son struck him with a syrup bottle.

Soto then entered the unlocked back door of another residence on the same street, where three girls on spring break had been watching movies in the basement. After asking the girls "where the gun was" and yelling expletives at them, Soto attacked all three with an aluminum softball bat he had retrieved from the kitchen. One of the girls, 15-year-old Jenna A. Newcomb, was fatally injured before Soto eventually fled the home. The other girls, aged 15 and 14, survived. According to Newcomb's mother, she died protecting her sister and friend from further harm.

The attacks continued in another part of Winnebago County, where Soto allegedly broke into a woman's home through a window, chased her into the yard, and attacked her with his knife, causing stab wounds to her hands and face. He then injured a man who was driving by and stopped to intervene, [2] also attempting to steal his Jeep. As Soto began attacking the man, police arrived and took him into custody, [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] with a deputy sustaining a stab wound to his hand in the process. [7]

Victims

Four people, including a 15-year-old girl and a postal worker, were killed in the attacks, while seven others were injured. The victims were identified as 49-year-old Jay P. Larson, 15-year-old Jenna A. Newcomb, 23-year-old Jacob D. Schupbach, and 63-year-old Ramona L. Schupbach. [1] [3] [8] Newcomb and the Schupbachs died at the scene, while Larson died at a hospital. The Schupbachs were the only victims Soto knew prior to the attacks. [2]

In honor of Larson, a procession of mail trucks followed his delivery route on April 2, 2024. [9]

Accused

The only suspect in the attacks, 22-year-old Christian Ivan Soto, had several traffic violations, [5] with one incident in 2022 resulting in Soto receiving a sentence of six months of supervision. Soto had also been charged with damage to property in September 2022. [2] [4]

Following the attacks, Soto was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of attempted first-degree murder, [5] and two counts of home invasion with a dangerous weapon. [1] Soto faces up to 60 years in prison on each count of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, as well as up to 30 years in prison for each count of home invasion. [4] Soto may also face federal charges since one of the victims was a postal worker. [2] [3]

During a court hearing on April 2, Soto disrupted the proceedings with a verbal outburst in which he loudly exclaimed "Only God can judge me" and called those present "puppets" and "serpents". [10] [11]

Reactions

In a statement released the day after the attacks, President Joe Biden stated that he and first lady Jill Biden were "horrified to learn of the brutal attack carried out in Rockford last night". Biden further stated that they were "praying for the families of those who lost loved ones, and hoping that all those injured make a full recovery", expressed gratitude "for the heroic actions of local law enforcement, who confronted the suspect and prevented the loss of more innocent life", and pledged that his administration "will do everything in its power to help the people of Rockford and the broader community recover from this traumatic event". [1] [12]

U.S. representative Eric Sorensen, whose district covers Rockford, stated in a Twitter post that he was "grateful for quick actions of our police who were able to catch the suspect and prevent additional harm to our neighbors in Rockford". [12]

Rockford's mayor, Tom McNamara, described the attacks as a "random and senseless act of violence" [4] and stated that his heart was "breaking for those who have lost their lives, their families and our community". [8] [13]

Related Research Articles

The Franklin Regional High School stabbing was a mass stabbing that took place on April 9, 2014, at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Alexander Hribal, a 16-year-old sophomore at the school, used a pair of eight-inch kitchen knives to stab and slash 20 students and a security guard. Four students sustained life-threatening injuries, but all survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broken Arrow murders</span> Mass stabbing and familicide in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, US

The Broken Arrow murders, otherwise known as the Bever family massacre, were a familicide and mass stabbing that occurred on July 22, 2015, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The perpetrators, Robert and Michael Bever, murdered their parents and 3 siblings. It was the deadliest crime and mass murder in the city of Broken Arrow, until a murder-suicide in October 2022 which killed 8 people.

On 3 August 2016, a mass stabbing occurred in Russell Square, London. Six people were stabbed, one fatally, before a suspect, identified as Zakaria Bulhan, was apprehended by police and charged with murder and attempted murder. The media initially linked the stabbing to terrorism, but later shifted its focus to possible mental disorders.

On 6–7 April 2017, two teenage boys aged 15 and 16 went on a rampage in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia, first stabbing a service station attendant to death, then violently attacking four people in a spree that continued for several hours. The attacks were investigated by Australia's Joint Counter-Terrorism Task Force as a possible terrorism-related crime. On 1 May 2020 both males were sentenced. The older received a jail term of 35 years and 6 months, while the younger received 18 years and 4 months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Portland train attack</span> Racially-motivated harassment and stabbing on a train in Portland, Oregon

On May 26, 2017, Jeremy Joseph Christian fatally stabbed two men and injured a third after he was confronted for shouting racist and anti-Muslim slurs at two black teenagers, Destinee Mangum and Walia Mohamed, on a MAX Light Rail train in Portland, Oregon, United States. Two of the victims, Ricky John Best of Happy Valley and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche of Portland, were killed; the third victim, Micah David-Cole Fletcher, survived with serious wounds.

A mass stabbing is a single incident in which multiple victims are injured or killed with a sharp object thrusted at the victims, piercing through the skin and injuring the victims. Examples of sharp instruments used in mass stabbings may include kitchen knives, utility knives, sheath knives, scissors, katanas, icepicks, bayonets, axes, machetes and glass bottles. Knife crime poses security threats to many countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kawasaki stabbings</span> Mass stabbing in Kawasaki, Japan

The Kawasaki stabbings occurred on the morning of 28 May 2019 in the Tama ward of Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, four blocks west of Noborito Station. Two people were murdered, and 18 others were injured after being stabbed at a city bus stop by 51-year-old Ryuichi Iwasaki. After carrying out the attack, Iwasaki committed suicide by stabbing himself in the neck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Tessa Majors</span> Murder of a college student in New York City

The murder of Tessa Majors occurred near Morningside Park in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, on December 11, 2019. Majors, an eighteen-year-old student at Barnard College, was attacked and stabbed by three teenagers as part of a robbery. Majors was discovered collapsed and bleeding on a staircase exiting Morningside Park and transported to a nearby hospital, ultimately succumbing to the injuries.

On the night of December 28, 2019, the seventh night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, a masked man wielding a large knife or machete invaded the home of a Hasidic rabbi in Monsey, Rockland County, New York, where a Hanukkah party was underway, and began stabbing the guests. Five men were wounded, two of whom were hospitalized in critical condition. Party guests forced the assailant to flee by wielding chairs and a small table. Three months after the stabbing, the most severely injured victim, Rabbi Josef Neumann, aged 72, died of his wounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Reading stabbings</span> Stabbing attack in Reading, England

On 20 June 2020, shortly before 19:00 BST, a man with a knife attacked people who were socialising in Forbury Gardens, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom. Three men died from their wounds, and three other people were seriously injured. Khairi Saadallah, a 25-year-old Libyan male refugee, was arrested shortly afterwards. He was charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder; he pleaded guilty. In January 2021, Saadallah was sentenced to a whole-life term.

On March 27, 2021, one person was killed and six others were injured in a mass stabbing at the Lynn Valley Library in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A man named Yannick Bandaogo was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. In September 2021, he was additionally charged with one count of aggravated assault and five counts of attempted murder. Bandaogo did not know any of his victims. On May 29, 2023, he pleaded guilty to all of the charges. On August 31, 2023, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 15 years.

On 10 May 2021, shortly after 14:30 NZST, four people were stabbed at the Countdown supermarket in central Dunedin, New Zealand. The victims were two shoppers and two staff members, reportedly in the area close to the supermarket pharmacy. The attacker stabbed four people in a rampage, seriously injuring three of them. All four stabbing victims were admitted to Dunedin Hospital, with three in the ICU; and was reported that all four remained in hospital, with three in serious but stable conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August 2021 Tokyo stabbings</span> 2021 mass stabbing incident in Tokyo, Japan

A mass stabbing incident occurred 6 August 2021, on a commuter train in the Odakyu Electric Railway in Tokyo, Japan. Ten people were injured in the incident.

On August 28, 2022, a 19-year-old man allegedly opened fire in Detroit, Michigan, United States, randomly killing three people on the city's streets over a span of two hours and fifteen minutes. A fourth person and a dog were injured. Each person was shot in separate locations, and had no known connection to the shooter nor any known gang affiliation. The suspected shooter was apprehended at his house in Detroit about 14 hours later, and was formally charged two days later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Ken Lee</span> 2022 stabbing in Toronto, Ontario

Ken Lee, a 59-year-old man, was fatally stabbed outside the Strathcona Hotel, on York Street, Toronto, at 12:17 am on December 18, 2022. Eight teenage girls were charged with his murder.

On 10 December 2024, a stabbing incident occurred at a hardware store in Kovan, Hougang, Singapore, resulting in the death of a 32-year-old Vietnamese woman and the wounding of one 26-year-old man. The alleged motive behind the crime was due to a suspected monetary dispute between the suspect and the female victim Dao Thi Hong.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hutchinson, Bill; Sarnoff, Leah (March 30, 2024) [March 28, 2024]. "What to know about the deadly Rockford, Illinois, stabbing spree". ABC News . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mayorquín, Orlando; Fadulu, Lola (March 28, 2024) [March 27, 2024]. "Man Charged With Killing 4 in Stabbing Rampage Blames Drugs" . The New York Times . Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Drenon, Brandon (March 29, 2024). "Rockford, Illinois stabbing suspect blamed 'laced' marijuana, authorities say". BBC News . Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Burke, Minyvonne; Helsel, Phil (March 28, 2024) [March 27, 2024]. "4 dead, including teen who was killed protecting her sister, in Illinois stabbing spree". NBC News . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Dodge, John (March 29, 2024). "What we know about the victims in Rockford, Illinois stabbings". CBS News . Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  6. ↑ Foody, Kathleen; Callahan, Rick; Williams, Corey (March 28, 2024). "Suspect charged with murder, attempted murder in deadly Rockford rampage". Chicago. Associated Press . Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  7. ↑ Kolkey, Jeff (March 29, 2024). "Rockford man lauded as a hero, good Samaritan for his actions during mass stabbing". Rockford Register Star . Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Simonson, Amy; Mascarenhas, Lauren; Rose, Andy (March 29, 2024) [March 28, 2024]. "4 dead, 7 injured in stabbing rampage in Rockford, Illinois, residential area, authorities say". CNN . Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  9. ↑ Hawley, Kara (April 25, 2024) [April 2, 2024]. "US Postal Service honors slain Rockford mailman with procession. See photos". Rockford Register Star . Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  10. ↑ Fox, Bridgette; Neuzil, Laura; Stoffregen, Sydni (April 2, 2024). "Suspect in Rockford attacks causes courtroom scene, deemed 'threat to community'". WIFR . Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  11. ↑ Hagerty, Jim (April 2, 2024). "Rockford stabbing suspect hurls insults at judge, victims' families at court appearance". Rockford Register Star . Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Suter, Tara (March 28, 2024). "Biden 'horrified' by Illinois stabbings that killed 4 people". The Hill . Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Four killed during stabbing spree in Illinois". BBC News. March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.