2024 Rockford stabbings

2024 Rockford stabbings
Location	Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Date	March 27, 2024 (2024-03-27) (CDT)
Attack type	Mass stabbing, home invasion, bludgeoning, vehicle-ramming
Weapons	Knife, pickup truck, softball bat
Deaths	4 (1 by bludgeoning)
Injured	7 (2 by bludgeoning)
Accused	Christian Ivan Soto

On March 27, 2024, four people were killed and seven others were injured in a mass stabbing in 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 and home invasion.

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 also ran over multiple times as he fled in his pickup truck. He then injured three people at another residence—a mother and her two adult children—all of whom were subsequently released after being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Soto then entered the unlocked back door of another residence, where three girls had been watching movies in the basement. After asking the girls "where the gun was", Soto attacked all three of them with a 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. 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 and attacked her, as well as a man who had been driving by and stopped to intervene, with a knife. As Soto began attacking the man, police arrived and took him into custody.

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. The Schupbachs were the only victims Soto knew prior to the attacks.

Accused

The only suspect in the attacks, 22-year-old Christian Ivan Soto, had several traffic violations, 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.

Following the attacks, Soto was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of home invasion. 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. Soto may also face federal charges since one of the victims was a postal worker.

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".

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".

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".

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