Photo: Getty Images
A New York City grandmother has been arrested for allegedly stabbing her seven-year-old granddaughter over a dozen times with a kitchen knife in front of the girl's four-year-old sister.
When police arrived at the apartment, they found the young girl on a bed covered in blood. One of the officers grabbed the girl and rushed her to the hospital in his squad car.
"[The police officer] came out running from where he was at with the little girl. The property that they have is a couple of houses away. So we just seen that he came out running," witness Ana Martinez told WABC. "The cop car was right in front of my property. So he just put her right in the cop car. He didn't wait for the ambulance."
Miraculously, the girl survived the attack and underwent emergency surgery. She has since been stabilized and continues to recover in the hospital.
The girl's grandmother, 65-year-old Mariza Yauger, was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder, attempted manslaughter, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Investigators have not determined a motive for the attack but noted that Yauger has a history of mental illness.