A teenager, allegedly dressed in a clown costume, has been accused of fatally stabbing an elderly man in East St. Louis, Illinois. The incident occurred on Monday evening, with police responding to a report of a body found in the street shortly after 10 p.m.
The victim has been identified as John Wesley Allen Sr. The St. Clair County Coroner’s Office confirmed he died from multiple stab wounds.
Less than an hour before the body was discovered, a Ring doorbell camera at a nearby residence recorded a masked and bespectacled 15-year-old suspect wearing a black-and-red clown costume. In the footage, the individual approaches the camera, stares directly into it, and whispers, “I’ve been looking for you.” The suspect then walked off the porch and around the back of the house.
Illinois State Police stated that the juvenile suspect was identified and taken into custody at a residence. Authorities are working to collect all relevant video footage related to the incident. The motive for the killing and any relationship between the suspect and the victim remain unknown at this time.
One resident, Lee Palmer, told KMOV that his mother was home alone when the individual in the clown costume appeared at their front door. He described the suspect lurking around the property for several minutes and expressed fear that the individual was going to harm the residents.