HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A 12-year-old boy is charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly stabbed a 59-year-old woman inside of her NW Harris County home on Saturday.
The stabbing happened around 2:19 p.m., according to security camera footage shared with KPRC 2.
Deputies were called to the home at 17211 April Valley Court roughly ten minutes later.
The stabbing stemmed from an earlier argument between the woman and two kids, ages 7 and 12.
The children, ages 7 and 12, have been located. The female has been taken by Lifeflight to another hospital. https://t.co/jznFbiEYhL
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) March 23, 2024
“From what I’ve gathered, it was just a verbal altercation,” said Sergio Torres with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Security camera video shows them riding their bikes down the street only to return about 12 minutes later wearing rubber gloves and concealing a weapon.
Around 2:19 p.m., video shows the kids engaging with the woman again, who is just out of view of the security camera in her garage. All of a sudden, the two boys run towards the woman. That’s when deputies say the 12-year-old attacked and stabbed the woman several times.
“The female appeared to have, several stab wounds to her abdomen area,” Torres said. “The female was transported to a nearby hospital where she’s right now in surgery and is in critical condition.”
Investigators say the woman suffers from mental health issues. Her family often comes and checks on her, according to neighbors.
It’s that routine check-in that likely saved her life.
Roughly ten minutes after being stabbed, her brother happened to stop by and found his sister stabbed and bloodied.
“Her brother came and checked by just to check up on her,” Torres said. “He checks on her daily. At that point, he just came at the right time. They opened the door and saw that she was stabbed.”
Neighbors say this is not the first time deputies have been to this home. They often call 911 due to the woman’s actions, according to neighbors.
“Lately it’s been getting worse,” said Maddy Monsalve, who lives across the street. “Just this morning, she was, stealing things from her yard guy’s truck and was vandalizing their vehicle, was throwing things at them, was stealing things from in their car. She was like telling me that she was going to cut me if I didn’t and back off.”
It’s those very actions that leads Monsalve to think that the woman’s mental illness may have played a factor into why the pre-teen would’ve stabbed her.
“I think these kids just didn’t know any better. So they retaliated,” she said.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office continues their investigation but has since cleared the scene.
As of their last update, the victim remains in surgery at a nearby hospital and is listed in critical condition.
A motive for the stabbing has not yet been released.