Illinois Man Charged with Multiple Murder Counts in Home Invasion Stabbing Spree
Christian Soto, 22, faces 11 counts of murder/intent to kill and two counts of home invasion in connection with the rampage that left four people, as young as 15 years old, dead, jail records indicate.
(Photo : Winnebago County Sheriff's Office)

The man accused in a home invasion turned stabbing spree through an Illinois neighborhood has been charged with multiple counts of murder.

Christian Soto, 22, faces 11 counts of murder/intent to kill and two counts of home invasion in connection with the rampage that left four people, as young as 15 years old, dead, jail records indicate.

He has not yet entered a plea to the charges.

The Wednesday afternoon rampage allegedly started as a home invasion in Rockford, Illinois, according to the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office. A young woman was stabbed in the face and hand.

From there, Soto allegedly continued throughout the neighborhood, stabbing several other victims within 20 minutes, before he was arrested, authorities said.

A 15-year-old girl, 63-year-old woman, 22-year-old man, and 49-year-old man were killed, according to the Rockford Police Department. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service confirmed a mail carrier was among the dead, the Associated Press reported.

Five additional victims with serious injuries were taken to area hospitals.

Rockford 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," according to NBC News.

"My prayers are with them as they're just beginning to deal with what will be really difficult days and weeks ahead," he said.

A motive remains under investigation.