Horrific moment U.S. man, 21, stabs grandfather, 70, in neck hours after being freed from mental hospital - prompting cops at the scene to shoot knifeman AND his grandpa dead

From Vanessa Serna’s article in the UK’s newspaper The Daily Mail

Horrific bodycam footage showed the moment a 21 year-old man stabbed his grandpa in the neck - prompting cops 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 Will County Sheriff's Office were called to reports of Muhammad threatening Wells. 

Bodycam footage of the incident has just been released. Muhammad had been released from a mental hospital just hours before the double-killing, after being held there for a week following a suicide attempt.

He experienced another mental health crisis shortly after being freed, which culminated in both his and his grandfather's deaths in a hail of police bullets.  

Footage showed the moment deputies entered the home and attempted to convince Muhammad to put down the knife. 

As cops advance on Jabbar and urge him to drop the knife, he flies at his grandpa and plunges the blade into the elderly man's neck. Cops then begin firing their guns at both men - and open fire again once the pair are on the floor. 

Both men lie unconscious on the floor afterwards. It takes deputies a few minutes to realize that Wells had also been shot. They can later be seen performing CPR in an unsuccessful attempt to revive him. At one point an unidentified relative can be heard coming into the house and screaming with anguish after the shots were fired.

A rock song also blares out of a TV in an adjoining room as the hellish scene unfolds.  Wells' family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit over the double-shooting.

A police spokesman said: 'Without warning, Jabbar lunged at his grandfather with the knife, stabbing Eldred in the neck several times,' 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 floor upon Jabbar being shot. After being shot numerous times, Jabbar continued to stab his grandfather as the two were laying on the floor.

'The deputies again, fired their service weapons multiple times in an attempt to stop Jabbar Muhammad's deadly actions.' 

Both were shot dead. The family is now filing a wrongful lawsuit against the sheriff's department and argues both Wells and Muhammad didn't need to die. 

Officers can be heard in the shocking footage attempting to calm Muhammad down as the 21-year-old launched at his grandfather, who was standing a few feet away, as music loudly played in the background. 

'Put the knife down,' one officer repeatedly said as Muhammad insisted they stay back.

'Stop right there, stop right there,' Muhammad said. 'I will not put this knife down.'

Within seconds, one officer can be seen reaching for his gun as Muhammad stabbed Wells.

Deputies fired multiple gunshots while Muhammad continued to stab the elderly man's neck despite being shot. 

After Muhammad dropped the knife, Officers then called for medical assistance. Deputies didn't realize that Wells was shot until they opened his shirt. 

Footage shows the officers then performing life-saving measures while shouting for the elderly man to 'stay' with them. 

The 70-year-old was pronounced dead at a local hospital. 

Wells' family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the sheriff's department that was filed last month.  

'The Will County Sheriff’s Office failed to de-escalate this situation,' attorney Saulter Law P.C., who is representing Wells' family, told WGN 9 News. 

'They were aware Jabbar Muhammad was suffering from a mental health crisis. He had just gotten out of a mental health facility after an intense 10-day period about four-to-five hours before this fatal shooting.'

The deputies involved in the shooting weren't charged and Saulter called the incident a tragedy.

'It's horrible for so many reasons,' Saulter told the news outlet. 'It's tragic.

He added: 'It's clear any wounds Mr. Wells received from Mr. Muhammad were superficial in nature [and] would have never caused his death.

'What caused his death was the fact he was shot through the back through his aortic artery. That was the actual cause of his death.'

The lawsuit argues that both Wells and Muhammad didn't have to be shot in killed. 

Click here to read the full article on The Daily Mail’s website.

The family of Jabbar Muhammad is represented by Craig M. Sandberg from Sandberg Law Office, P.C.