The Navy vet stabbed at a bus stop in Illinois was identified by the hospital bracelet on his wrist, according to his family, after what investigators say was a fatal attack by a 15-year-old dressed in a clown costume. John Wesley Allen Sr., 78, had gone to a VA hospital for testing before heading toward his sister’s home Monday, relatives told 5 On Your Side.
Family members said Allen never made a formal appointment when he wanted to visit. Instead, they said, he would call his sister Delores Fowler and ask if she was home so she could meet him at a MetroLink station or bus stop. Fowler told NBC News she believed her brother was on his way for a surprise visit before he was attacked.
The family said Allen’s hospital bracelet was still on his wrist when they found him, and that is how he was identified. They described the loss as sudden and senseless, saying he had been the youngest of six siblings and had spent more than 30 years driving buses. His niece said it was the first time anything like this had happened to him while getting off a bus.
Investigators said the teen suspect was seen near a home shortly before the killing, wearing a clown costume and staring into a Ring camera with what the video captured as a fixed expression. In the clip, time-stamped 9:11 p.m. Monday, the teen says, “I’ve been looking for you,” before the attack. Illinois State Police said officers responded after a report of “a body in the roadway,” then quickly identified a juvenile suspect and took him into custody at a residence.
