4 DEAD, 7 INJURED AFTER STABBING ATTACK IN NORTHERN ILLINOIS; SUSPECT IN CUSTODY

ROCKFORD, Ill. — At least four people are dead and seven others were injured, including one in critical condition, after a man went on a stabbing rampage Wednesday in northern Illinois, authorities said.

Carla Redd, the police chief in Rockford, a city about 94 miles northwest of Chicago, said police received a medical call at 1:14 p.m. Authorities then received additional calls for paramedics and police, who responded to the area and discovered multiple crime scenes.

A suspect was taken into custody and questioned by police on Wednesday afternoon, Redd told reporters on Wednesday. The suspect was later identified as a 22-year-old man.

"This is a pretty painstaking event," Redd said. "My heart goes out to the families right now who are suffering a loss."

Redd noted that not all of the victims were stabbed and none had been shot. The motive behind the attacks remains unknown.

Rockford police later identified the four victims killed 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 to the public.

Three of the four victims who were killed died at the scenes, according to Rockford Fire Department District Chief Will Pederson. The fourth victim was transported to a local hospital, where they died.

Of those injured, one person was in critical condition and four were in stable condition, Rockford police said. The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office said two more victims were also injured in its jurisdiction, WIFR 23 and The Associated Press reported.

Wednesday's attack came just days after an 18-year-old Walmart employee in Rockford was stabbed and killed. A 28-year-old man was arrested and is facing a first-degree murder charge, according to police.

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