A Texas good samaritan tried to save the life of a toddler who was being stabbed by his father in an apartment courtyard on Sunday.
The unidentified neighbor saw the man stabbing the 16-month-old at the Oak Forrest Apartments in Lewisville and fired a shot, hitting the man in his leg. The man was arrested and taken into custody by police, the New York Post reported.
Capt. Jesse Hunter said the good samaritan will not face any charges.
On Monday, Hunter said there were no police records of prior incidents at the apartment or previous reports involving Child Protective Services for that family.
The incident happened while the child’s mother was at work. Neighbors at the apartment complex were shocked.
A neighbor, Edward Carranza, said he was woken from a nap by people screaming and then he heard several gunshots. He went outside to find the man holding the child and standing in a “big pool of blood.”
“He had an evil look. The look that he had in his eyes was not a normal look,” Carranza said.
Carranza told police that the man was yelling for people to come outside, and then he threw the child down on the cement and began stabbing him with knives and scissors.
Carranza said: “He was trying to get people to come toward him. He was screaming, ‘Come on, come out here’ again and again to try to get people to come see what he was doing.”
Neighbor spots man stabbing toddler, shoots him to halt attack – New York Post https://t.co/VMBYj6hbC0
— The Independent Press (@independpress) August 20, 2018
Other witnesses said he was yelling “Jesus is coming!”
Hunter said the incident was “probably the worst” he’s seen in his 20-year law enforcement career.
A 77-year-old resident, Mary Phillips, said: “Some of my neighbors told me to get down. My lease is up in March. If I live that long, I’ll move.”
Ciera Mills, 26, who also lives at the complex, said she always saw the man on his balcony. “He was pretty normal. For this to happen is unbelievable,” she said.
The boy’s father was booked in Lewisville late Sunday; however, his charges aren’t immediately clear as investigators await toxicology results.
The child later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
