Man accused of stabbing child, 3, in neck at Houston playground

HOUSTON – A man is accused of stabbing a 3-year-old boy in the neck in the courtyard of an apartment complex in northeast Houston.

Jose Guillermo Molina, 21, is charged with injury to a child. Houston police say on April 22 the child was outside at an apartment complex in the 200 block of West Little York when Molina walked up to him and stabbed him in the back of his neck.

The boy's mother tells Local 2 she heard her son's screams and ran to help him. She says she begged Molina no to pull the knife out of her son's neck. She said he instead pulled the knife out and stabbed her son again, then threatened her. She says he then took the knife and walked across the street.

"He grabbed the little boy by his hair, pulled the neck back, stabbed him in the neck three times. After he stabbed him, he put the little boy on the ground and he put his knee on the little boy's chest and he was trying to choke him," said neighbor Lydia Hernandez.

Police said Molina was later arrested.

The victim was rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital in stable condition. His injuries were said to be non-life threatening. He is now out of the hospital with a bandage on his neck.

Neighbors say he lives next door to the boy's family.

Investigators are still trying to determine the motive for the stabbing.

Molina is being held in the Harris County Jail without bond.

Court documents show Molina has been convicted of criminal mischief and for assaulting his mother. He served time in jail for both cases.