Neighbors stunned after 6-year-old Joliet boy fatally stabs 2-year-old brother
CHICAGO (CBS) — Neighbors in Joliet are stunned after a 6-year-old boy stabbed and killed his 2-year-old brother with a kitchen knife on Friday.
Danitha Gaines has lived in the usually quiet neighborhood for the past five years, seeing the two boys at their home as they played outside or walked the block with family.
"It's horrible. It's heartbreaking. I didn't sleep a wink last night. Just terrible," she said. "A very nice family, nice."
But those memories are now joined by a new one of a mother sitting outside her home, grieving.
"She sat right there on that bench yesterday, just looking so distraught. I even started crying," Gaines said.
Police say the 2-year-old boy died Friday after his 6-year-old brother stabbed him several times with a steak knife inside their home while two adults were in another room.
"I have a 2-year-old grandson and a 6-year-old granddaughter, and it's just so heart-wrenching. This is terrible. We have never had anything like this happen in this neighborhood," Gaines said.
On Saturday morning, nonprofit staff offered coffee, donuts, and support to a neighborhood in shock.
"There's some things that regardless of training in situations like this, you can't prepare for," said Jaron Nabors Sr., outreach supervisor for Illinois Youth and Family Services.
"Just heartbroken," said Outreach team leader Samuel Barnett.
CBS News Chicago reached the homeowner by phone, but they did not want to talk.
"I think it's very important to just remember that, you know? Everyone is a victim in this situation," said Sgt. Dwayne English of the Joliet Police Department.
Joliet police say they have responded to the boys' home three or four times for domestic issues since 2021, but the person at the center of those calls was not in the home Friday night.
Police said the 6-year-old brother underwent a mental health examination overnight and has been placed with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
The Joliet Police Department is holding a stress debriefing on Sunday for its own staff members, who are coming to terms with the tragedy.