Deputies have charged a 12-year-old boy for allegedly stabbing his neighbor in front of his younger brother.
Authorities charged the child with aggravated assault stemming from an incident involving a 59-year-old woman on Saturday.
Surveillance video shows the boy and his 7-year-old brother on bikes arguing with the woman as she’s standing in her driveway. They ride off after a neighbor appears to ask them to leave. Minutes later, they return to her home wearing surgical gloves. The 12-year-old runs up to the neighbor while she’s in her garage, then runs away with his brother.
Shortly after, the woman’s brother came by the house and found her with stab wounds. He called 911, and medics rushed her to the hospital in critical condition. Authorities say she was stabbed in the stomach several times.
“Her brother came [by] just to check up on her, he checks on her daily, at that point he came at the right time. He opened the door and saw she was stabbed,” Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigator Sergio Torres said.
A neighbor told local news outlets the woman’s family comes by frequently to check on her because she suffers from a mental illness.
“Lately it’s been worse as her mental illness gets worse, as her brain gets worse she does crazier things, just today she was stealing things from her yard guys and vandalizing her vehicles,” Maddy Monslave said. “We try to keep our patience. We are understanding even though it’s very frustrating and we all have to call the cops, not just me, other neighbors have too, we try to have patience.”
HCSO Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote in a post on X that while the 12-year-old was charged, his brother “is not culpable by law.”
The boys’ mother issued an apology to the neighbor’s family, citing that the son who was charged suffers from mental health issues.
“I’m sorry to the family. I’m very sorry that my son’s committed the incident. And I’m praying for your health, for your wellness,” the mother told KPRC. “My son, he struggles from his mental problems.”
The boy remains in police custody, but his mother said he is doing OK. Investigators haven’t released a motive for the stabbing or what the argument between the neighbor and the boys was about.
