Horrific bodycam footage showed the moment a 21-year-old man stabbed his grandpa in the neck – prompting police at the scene to shoot both men dead.
Jabbar Muhammad and his grandfather Eldred Wells Sr. were both killed in Joliet, Illinois, in November 2021 after deputies from the Will County Sheriff’s Office were called to reports of Muhammad’s threat of Wells.
Bodycam footage of the incident has just been released. Muhammad had been released from a psychiatric hospital just hours before the double murder, after being held there for a week after attempting suicide.
Shortly after his release, he experienced another mental crisis, culminating in the deaths of himself and his grandfather from a hail of police bullets.
The footage showed the moment MPs entered the house and tried to convince Muhammad to put down the knife.
As police officers advance on Jabbar and urge him to drop the knife, he flies towards his grandfather and plunges the blade into the older man’s neck. The police officers then fire their guns at both men – and open fire again as soon as the two are on the ground.
Both men then lie unconscious on the ground. It takes the congressmen a few minutes to realize that Wells was also shot. They can later be seen performing CPR in an unsuccessful attempt to revive him. At one point, an unidentified relative is heard entering the house and screaming in terror after the shots were fired.
A rock song also blares out of a TV in a side room as the hellish scene unfolds. The Wells family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit over the double shooting.
Horrific footage showed the altercation unfolding minute by minute as officers tried to convince Muhammad to put down his knife
Shots from officers forced the grandson and grandfather to the ground while the 21-year-old continued to stab the older man multiple times
Officials were called to the Joliet home in November 2021 when a family member reported Jabbar Muhammad (above), 21, was in an argument with Eldred Wells Sr., 70
Police’s newly released bodycam footage of the living room with 70-year-old Eldred Wells Sr. (above) and his grandson just before the 21-year-old jumped to stab him
The incident happened at the home at 300 Middletree Road on November 6, 2021. Another man is on the phone as officers go inside
A police spokesman said: “Without warning, Jabbar lunged at his grandfather with the knife and stabbed Eldred multiple times in the neck,” the sheriff’s department wrote in a statement. “Deputies fired their service weapons at Jabbar Muhammad in defense of Eldred’s life.
“Both Jabbar and Eldred fell to the ground when Jabbar was shot. After being shot multiple times, Jabbar continued to stab his grandfather while the two were lying on the ground.
“The MPs again fired their service weapons multiple times to stop Jabbar Muhammad’s deadly actions.”
Both were shot. The family is now filing a wrongful lawsuit against the sheriff’s department, arguing that both Wells and Muhammad did not have to die.
In the shocking footage, officers can be heard trying to calm Muhammad as the 21-year-old lunged at his grandfather, who was standing a few meters away while loud music played in the background.
“Put the knife down,” one officer said repeatedly when Muhammad insisted they stay behind.
“Stop right there, stop right there,” said Muhammad. ‘I will not put down this knife.’
Within seconds an officer can be seen reaching for his gun as Muhammad stabbed Wells.
The deputies fired several shots while Muhammad continued to stab the elderly man’s neck despite the shot.
After Muhammad dropped the knife, the officers called for medical attention. The deputies didn’t realize Wells was shot until they unbuttoned his shirt.
Footage shows officers performing life-saving procedures while yelling for the elderly man to stay with them.
The 70-year-old was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The 21-year-old had been released from a psychiatric hospital just a few hours before the altercation and had attempted suicide about ten days earlier
Officers called for medical help and didn’t realize Wells was shot until they unbuttoned his shirt
The Wells family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the sheriff’s department, which was filed last month.
“The Will County Sheriff’s Office has failed to de-escalate this situation,” attorney Saulter Law PC, representing the Wells family, told WGN 9 News.
“They knew that Jabbar Muhammad was suffering from a mental crisis. He had just emerged from a psychiatric facility after an intense 10-day period about four to five hours before this fatal shooting.
The MPs involved in the shooting were not charged and Saulter called the incident a tragedy.
“It’s awful for so many reasons,” Saulter told the news outlet. “It’s tragic.
He added: “It is clear that any wounds Mr Wells received from Mr Muhammad were superficial in nature [and] would never have caused his death.
“What caused his death was the fact that he was shot in the back through his aortic artery. That was the real cause of his death.’
The lawsuit argues that both Wells and Muhammad did not have to be shot.