A Florida man has been federally indicted in connection to the stabbing death of a Black man at a Kansas City, Missouri gas station, per the Atlanta Black Star.
According to court documents, Sean Walter Tonkin, a 36-year-old white man, stabbed Jon Rone, 41, with a knife with knuckles in a racially motivated hate crime.
Tonkin was allegedly unprovoked when he approached Rone at a gas station and hurled racist epithets and threats on July 4, 2023. During the attack, Tonkin allegedly stabbed Rone twice. Rone later died from the injuries he sustained.
"The indictment alleges that Tonkin attacked J.M.R. [Rone] because of his race," the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri said in a statement.
Tonkin previously faced charges in Jackson County of peace disturbance and possession of a controlled substance in connection to the July stabbing. According to court documents, witnesses told police that Tonkin called Rone the N-word before the stabbing.
"Witnesses describe the defendant using racially-charged and aggressive comments earlier in the day leading up to the incident, and immediately before and during the confrontation between the defendant and the victim," court documents state.
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