Religious leaders gathered the community on Thursday to pray and grieve for the victims in Wednesday’s stabbing spree in Rockford that left four dead.
Madelyn Encinas attended the vigil with her younger brothers.
“It's just really devastating to hear it happen so close to us,” Encinas said. “Like you hear bad things happening all over town, but when it's right next to you it feels a lot different.”
The youngest victim was 15-year-old Jenna Newcomb.
Her friends tell WNIJ that she was a “sweet” and “cool” girl. She played on her high school softball team and was involved in theater and dance.
Many young people were in attendance who were on spring break this week.
The other victims include 63-year-old Ramona Schupbach, her son 23-year-old Jacob Schupbach, and 49-year-old Jay Larson, who was the mail carrier for the area.
Deanna Gordon said Larson was kind and very friendly. She often chatted with him when he delivered mail to her home.
“We loved talking about the weather,” Gordon said.
She added that he connected with her children too.
“My kids would follow him on the route during the summer times,” Gordon said. “And I just feel for all the families that are here right now. It's very sad.”
Several others were injured during the spree that happened over multiple streets.
The suspect, 22-year-old Christian Soto, is in custody and faces 13 charges including four counts of first-degree murder. According to several reports, the killings happened on the southeast side of the city, and in the same neighborhood that the suspect resided in.
This marks a difficult week for the city.
On Sunday, 18-year-old Jason Jenkins was killed when he was stabbed while working at Walmart.
Community leaders emphasized that in a time of mourning it's okay to seek out support.
Among those was Lawrence Steward, president of the local chapter of the National Association of Letter Carriers. He said Jay Larson was "always happy, always positive, not a bad bone in his body."
Steward said he tells fellow letter carriers "It's okay not to be okay."
"Don't run from the pain. The pain is just love being manifested in a different way. Don't ever let anyone tell you, 'you should be over it.' 'It's been on long enough.' You never get over losing someone you love."
The City of Rockford is partnering with Rosecrance and Rockford Public Schools to offer free emotional support and counseling services.
Services are available 9-5 p.m. Friday, March 29, at Flinn Middle School, 525 Ohio Parkway, according to 13 WREX.
