An Illinois man has been charged with first-degree murder following the fatal stabbing of a Black Walmart employee in Rockford, Illinois.
Timothy Carter, 28, was arrested following the attack that took place on Sunday night, March 24, 2024 at a Walmart store located at 3849 Northridge Drive in Rockford. The victim, identified as 18-year-old Jason Jenkins, died from injuries sustained in the stabbing. Witnesses at the scene reported that Carter, a white male, used a racial slur during the attack, highlighting potential racial motives behind the crime.
Surveillance footage from the Walmart store is reported to show Carter taking two knives—a silver kitchen knife and a red hunting knife—from the shelves before moving around the store. He appeared to give Black shoppers “dirty looks” before approaching Jenkins from behind and stabbing him once in the lower back.
Following the stabbing, Jenkins screamed for help, a distressing moment captured by a witness and shared with the authorities. Another witness recounted hearing the racial slur from Carter post-attack. He was transported to Javon Bea Mercyhealth Riverside Hospital, where he later died due to his injuries.
Carter’s actions before the crime have brought to light his mental health struggles. He informed the police that earlier on the day of the attack, he sought help from a local mental health and addiction treatment center, expressing suicidal thoughts. The center had him sent to a hospital from which he was discharged without receiving the needed mental health treatment before heading to the Walmart store.
Richard Rundall, a co-founder of Eliminate Racism 815, a Rockford-based organization committed to identifying and eradicating racism through education and advocacy within the community, seeks justice on behalf of Jason Jenkins’s family. Having carefully examined the details included in court documents, he believes the murder was motivated by racial hatred.
The loss of Jenkins, a student at Auburn High School in Rockford, has deeply affected the community. In a public statement, Walmart expressed its devastation over the incident and extended condolences to Jenkins’s family. “We’re devastated to learn that one of our associates has died following a violent attack inside our Rockford, IL store.”
Recent months have seen a string of violent events at various Walmart locations. Notably, an individual sustained a stab wound in the lower extremity close to the deli and produce area in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Walmart as the store neared closing time in January.
The following month, a man aged 59 was fatally shot in a Walmart parking lot in California while attempting to offer an apology for a minor car collision. Earlier in March, a fatal shooting occurred at a Walmart in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Only a week before the most recent incident, law enforcement detained a former Walmart staff member after he fired upon and injured an individual at a Walmart in the vicinity of Memphis, Tennessee.
In the wake of these events, Walmart asserted, “The safety of our associates and customers is our top priority. We will work closely with local law enforcement throughout their investigation and refer any additional questions to them.”
On Wednesday, March 27, a judge determined that the suspect, Carter, will remain incarcerated at Winnebago County Jail pending his upcoming hearing, scheduled for April 9.