Teen Arrested For Attempted Murder After Knife Attack

ROHNERT PARK, CA – A 17-year-old male, wielding a knife, was stunned with a Taser and subsequently arrested Tuesday night in Rohnert Park after allegedly stabbing a woman in the neck in front of her children and choking her 4-year-old, according to officials.

Officers were called at 8:30 p.m. to a neighborhood where the victim, a 56-year-old female, was found covered in blood on the sidewalk and bleeding profusely from her neck wound, the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety said.

Neighbors, who were guarding the woman's children, 8 and 4, pointed out to police a residence across the street where the stabbing suspect was presumed to be inside, the department said.

Police had entered the home searching for the juvenile suspect or other victims, when an officer yelled from the driveway. Approximately eight to 10 feet away from the officer, standing outdoors, was the teen with a "large knife" in his hand, police said.

Ignoring multiple commands from law enforcement to drop the weapon, the suspect was stunned once with a police Taser, which had no effect on him, then stunned two more times at which point he dropped the knife and was taken into custody, officials said.

Neighbors had intervened after hearing the initial screaming from the home, and told police they entered the residence and saw the suspect holding the victim against a hallway wall to prevent her from leaving. The woman's two children also were present and witnessed the knife attack, according to the department.

The neighbors reportedly pleaded with the teen to let the children leave, which he did and the two youngsters were taken to a nearby home, police said. Once the children left, the suspect released the stabbing victim and she went with neighbors, and 911 was called.

"The suspect remained in the home until officers arrived and then had the encounter on the driveway," police said. "Investigators learned the suspect had grabbed the 4-year-old around the neck and choked her prior to confronting the victim and stabbing her in the neck."

The female was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was treated for her injury and released.

The victim’s husband, who was not home during the attack, arrived during the investigation, and the two young children were released to him after they were interviewed, police said.

The teen was booked without bail in the Sonoma County Juvenile Hall for suspicion of attempted murder and felony child cruelty causing injury.

To protect the confidentiality of the children, police did not disclose names of the parties involved, the street or address, or the relationship between the stabbing victim and the accused.

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