IN CUSTODY

Two Boys, Ages 7 and 12, Arrested For Alleged Stabbing of 59-Year-Old Woman: Cops

The incident may have risen from a verbal spat, authorities said.

Police in Houston, Texas took two young boys into custody after they allegedly stabbed a woman who was left in critical condition in the hospital, Harris County Sheriff’s Office said on Saturday.

The boys, ages 7 and 12, fled the scene immediately after the stabbing, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on social media. The woman, 59, was rushed to the hospital and had taken multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, sheriff’s spokesman Sergio Torres added. As of Saturday, she was in critical condition.

The sheriff’s office believed the stabbing was prompted by an earlier argument between the boys and the victim. “They came back and attacked the woman,” a sheriff’s spokesman said, returning after the spat.

The 12-year-old was charged as a juvenile for aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, a spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the The Daily Beast. The 7-year-old was not charged because of his age.

Neighbors told local station KPRC that the woman had mental illness and her actions routinely caused the police to visit her home.

It’s unclear how the boys knew the woman.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with a statement from the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

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