Rockford, Illinois - Four people, including a teenage girl, were killed and at least five injured after a man went on a stabbing spree at multiple addresses in an Illinois city, police have said.

The stabbings took place on Wednesday afternoon, Rockford city police said in a statement, adding that a 22-year-old suspect was taken into custody.

The statement did not say anything about a possible motive.

Rockford is about 90 miles northwest of Chicago.

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Those killed included a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman, and two men aged 49 and 22, according to the police.

An initial statement said that five people had been wounded, but later reports cited the police saying the number was seven, with two persons attacked in a jurisdiction belonging to Winnebago County.

One woman reportedly managed to escape with wounds on her hands and face after the suspect broke into her home around 1 PM.

"We don’t have a clear motive in regard to what caused this individual to commit such heinous crimes," Rockford Police chief Carla Redd was quoted by CNN as saying.

Authorities announced a multi-agency investigation into the spree and asked local residents to check their home security systems for any potentially useful footage.