Mugshot Timothy Carter.
Timothy Carter is the Illinois man who is accused of stabbing a teenage Walmart employee to death inside the store, Rockford police say.
Police confirmed that the stabbing was a random attack as the suspect did not know the victim. The victim was identified as Jason Jenkins, 18, of Rockford by WREX. Jenkins was a student at Auburn High School, the television station reported.
Richard Rundell, a founder of Eliminate Racism 815, told WREX that surveillance video at the Walmart shows the suspect may have been racially motivated, using a racial slur against Jenkins, who was Black.
Carter has claimed he was denied mental health treatment, according to WIFR, which reported that court documents also accuse Carter of saying a racial slur before the attack.
The Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and authorized a charge of first-degree murder against Timothy Carter, 28, of Cabery, Illinois, a news release from Rockford police said. In another press release, police wrote that Carter had been charged with murder.
Here’s what you need to know:
Rockford Police Say the 18-Year-Old Walmart Worker Was Stabbed in the Back
Jason Jenkins should be here today. On Sunday night while working his shift at a Walmart in Rockford, he was stabbed out of the blue. Bystanders jumped to his side, comforting him while trying to stop the bleeding. This is a powerful testament of the good in our community and how…
“STABBING VICTIM: An adult male was stabbed by another adult male inside the Wal-Mart on Northridge and is being treated for serious injuries. The suspect is in custody and there is no threat to the public,” Rockford police wrote on X on March 24.
They added, “UPDATE: The 18-year-old male victim from the stabbing earlier this evening at Wal-Mart has passed away. The suspect is in custody and additional details will be provided in a future media release.”
In a March 25 press release, Rockford police said that, on March 24 at around 6:05 p.m., Rockford police officers responded to the Wal-Mart on Northridge “for a report of a stabbing.”
“When officers arrived, they located an 18-year-old male Wal-Mart employee with a life-threatening stab wound to the back.”
The victim was “transported to a local hospital, but unfortunately passed away a short time later. The suspect, later identified as 28-year-old Timothy Carter, was taken into custody, and lodged in the County Jail.”
A witness told WREX that she and other customers tried to save Jenkins’ life.
“First, you just see this young boy running. He started running towards the customer service desk. I remember being like why is he running? I looked over. All of a sudden, I saw something drop from his shirt and his pants. I thought maybe it was water or sweat. As you got closer, you saw it was blood,” the witness, who did not want to be identified, told the television station.
“We were giving them paper towels, T-shirts, everything. He was soaking right through it. It was so quick. It felt like an eternity. I remember the dispatcher asking me his age, and it was hard almost to focus.”
Timothy Carter Is Accused of Grabbing Kitchen & Hunting Knives From the Store & Using a Racial Slur Before Stabbing Jason Jenkins to Death
A woman who was at the Rockford Walmart during the stabbing of Jason Jenkins says she and others did what they could to try and save the 18-year-olds life.
Rundell told WREX that Walmart’s surveillance video “shows Carter grabbed two knives from the store, a silver kitchen knife, and a red hunting knife. The document further states that the video shows Carter wandering the store while giving ‘all of the African American people dirty looks.’
The television station continued: “In the video, Carter approached Jenkins from behind and stabbed him in the lower back. The documents also say Carter used a racial slur.”
“As with any investigation, further details and charges may come at a later date,” the release says.
“After further investigation, Carter’s last known address was in Ford and Kankakee Counties. The victim and Carter were not known to each other,” the release added.
According to WIFR, Carter told officers he “went to Rosecrance, 605 Mulberry St., for mental health care. He claimed he was initially denied treatment, threatened to kill himself and was transferred by Rosecrance staff to UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital, 1401 E. State Street. Carter said he was released from the hospital without receiving mental health treatment before traveling to the Walmart.”
READ NEXT: Kelsey Anderson Opens Up About Mom’s Tragic Death.