‘Armed and dangerous’: Police search for suspect after sisters fatally stabbed in Streamwood overnight

STREAMWOOD, Ill. (WGN) —  A search is underway in the northwest suburbs on Thursday for a man wanted in connection with the stabbing deaths of two sisters overnight.

According to officials, just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, police and paramedics from the Streamwood Fire Department were called to a townhome in the Woodland Heights East subdivision, in the 1600 block of McKool Avenue in Streamwood, following a report of a deadly stabbing.

An official from the Cook County Medical Examiners’ Office later confirmed that two victims, a 21-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl, were found dead in the area. Loved ones identified the adult victim as Janiya Jenkins and the minor as eyani Jones.

Officers are now searching for 25-year-old Jalonie Jenkins, who has been identified as a suspect in the case. Jenkins is allegedly related to the victims.

Officers said Jenkins is believed to be armed and dangerous, and his last known location was in Bensenville. Law enforcement boats equipped with sonar scanned the waters of the Redmond Reservoir late Wednesday night, deploying drones and search dogs, until they discovered Jalonie Jenkins’ car in Redmond Park.

A family friend of the victims told WGN-TV that they were sisters.

The woman said her daughter was on the phone with the victims when the violence unfolded Wednesday evening and heard the commotion. The victims’ 7-year-old brother then knocked on her door.

“I open my door, I say ‘What happened?’ He gets going into detail, you know, he’s only 7 years old, this is his big sister that he discovered,” the family friend said.

The woman said around 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday, two young children walked to her house and asked them to call their mother, who was at work, informing her that “something very bad” had happened at their home nearby.

The woman said she followed one of the children back to the townhouse while on the phone with their mother, but after finding the victims, she called the police.

“I walk up the stairs and I just see, like, blood and stuff, you know, everywhere. I see the oldest girl, you know, laid out, I see the little girl, she’s laid out. I’m on the phone with the mom, so I’m telling her like ‘Oh my gosh, like, you know, your kids are gone,” the woman said.

The woman described the situation as heartbreaking and said the 10-year-old girl killed was best friends with her daughter.

“She was a really sweet girl,” she said. “They go to school down the street. They just got out of school last Thursday after a vacation. They were on their way to fifth grade.”

Jasmine Marshall shared a photo of Janiya Jenkins with WGN-TV, calling the slain 21-year-old a good friend.

“A friend I never had,” Marshall added.

Nearby neighbors who spoke with WGN-TV say they’re distressed by the news.

“It took us by surprise, it really has. It kind of shook us,” said Andres Sullivan.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 25-year-old Jalonie Jenkins is asked to call the Streamwood Police Department at (630) 736-3700 or leave a message on the Streamwood Police Department Confidential Tipline at (630) 736-3719.