An Illinois community is reeling from a devastating Wednesday attack where four people were killed and seven injured. While officials rack up felony charges for the suspect, they’re also praising a local “good Samaritan” who rescued a woman.
Christian I. Soto, 22, has been hit with 11 charges of murder/intent to kill and two counts of home invasion after his alleged crime spree that took the lives of several of his neighbors, WIFR23 reports.
Court records obtained by the outlet show he lived on Upland Drive — the same neighborhood where he allegedly beat a teenage girl to death with a bat; fatally stabbed two adults, ran over a mail carrier with a pickup truck, and more.
Police believe that the two fatal stabbings were of Soto’s childhood friend, 23-year-old Jacob Schupbach, and his mother Ramona Schubach.
After allegedly killing four people and injuring five others, Soto is accused of then breaking through his neighbor Lindsay Craig’s window and attacking her with a knife.
Craig attempted to flee into the street but Soto tackled her, police said.
That’s when Keith Fahrney, who also lives in the neighborhood, ditched his vehicle in the middle of the street to rush to Craig’s aid.
Although he was able to draw Soto’s attention away from Craig, Fahrney was also attacked and suffered cuts on his face and neck.
“(Soto) was in the process of stabbing her,” Winnebago Sheriff Gary Caruana said Thursday, according to the Rockford Register Star. “The good Samaritan stopped that situation. She could easily have been deceased if he did not become involved with that.”
Soto even entered Fahrney’s Jeep “in an attempt to steal it,” police said.
“Keith Fahrney pulled Christian Soto from the Jeep but was again being attacked with the knife,” court documents obtained by the local paper state. “It was at this time the police arrived.”
After the 20-minute violent spree, Winnebago sheriff’s deputies and Rockford police officers chased Soto on foot.
One deputy was stabbed in the hand while making the arrest, Caruana said.
Craig’s current condition is unknown, but she was taken to the hospital to be treated for her injuries following the attack.
City officials of Rockford, located about 60 miles north of Chicago, expressed their grief over the horrendous crimes.
Mayor Tom McNamara said he was “just totally shaken by this act of violence and the impact that it’s having now on multiple families’ lives.”
The local government also listed the names of all five fatalities on social media.
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