Teen in a clown outfit accused of murdering 78-year-old man in ‘random attack’ at bus stop

Teen in a clown outfit accused of murdering 78-year-old man in ‘random attack’ at bus stop The suspect was seen on Ring doorbell footage in the area shortly before the attack, allegedly twirling a large knife - Bookmark A 15-year-old Illinois boy has been charged with murder after allegedly stabbing an elderly man in a “random attack” while wearing a clown costume. John Wesley Allen, 78, of Jennings, Missouri, was waiting at a bus stop near 76th and State streets in East St. Louis around 10 p.m. Monday when he was attacked and killed, according to Illinois State Police. Prosecutors say the unidentified teen had “the intent to kill or do great bodily harm” to Allen, who was stabbed with a knife multiple times, causing his death, according to a court filing by St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney Derek Smith, NBC News reports. The teen was arrested Monday night after police found him at a nearby home, authorities said. He was charged Thursday with first-degree murder. Prosecutors are also seeking to have the teen tried as an adult, a decision that will be left to the court. Less than an hour before the attack, doorbell camera footage obtained by KSDK showed a person in a clown outfit with a partially covered face approaching a home and saying, “I have a gift for you.” Neighbors told the station they saw the teenager going door to door, looking into windows and carrying a weapon. “He was twirling a knife, and it was a pretty big knife…the light gleamed off of it," neighbor Corrine Spry said. Allen’s heartbroken family remembered him as a kind and devoted man who was loved by those around him. He was a father of three, brother, uncle and Navy veteran who regularly took the bus to visit family members throughout the Metro East area. “He’s just a good person. That’s the reason I couldn’t possibly think nothing would happen to him,” Allen’s sister, Marie Stanford, told Fox 2 Now. “He always informed us where he was going to be so we could pick him up because we don’t like him riding on the bus late at night.” Allen’s family said they support prosecutors’ efforts to try the teen as an adult, saying the loss has deeply affected their loved ones. “My mom, my uncle and them, they have to live this for the rest of their life. Their baby brother is gone,” Allen’s niece, Tenia Stanford, told the station.