Man Arrested For Stabbing Coworker And The Two Young Sons Trying To Protect Their Mom

A woman in Philadelphia remains in critical condition after her coworker allegedly stabbed her and her two young sons when they tried to stop him.

Officers with the 15th district responded to reports of a man with a weapon on Knorr Street shortly after 2;00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, according to a statement from the Philadelphia Police Department sent to Oxygen.com. Police found an unnamed 37-year-old Asian woman inside a private residence who had been “stabbed multiple times throughout her body.” The assailant had fled the scene.

With the victim were two males, ages 15 and 10 — later reported as the woman’s sons, according to NBC Philadelphia. The older one was stabbed twice in the back of the head and the younger boy was also stabbed in the back of the head and the left leg, according to the police department.

Police say the boys are listed in stable condition.

Hengjian Ni, 39, surrendered to police and was taken to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital to be formally identified by the victims. Ni, who has a New York City address, was arrested and charged with three counts each of simple assault, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, and attempted murder. He was also charged with single counts of weapon possession, burglary, and attempted rape.

Neighbors said one of the boys ran down the street covered in blood, alerting residents that his mother and brother had just been stabbed, according to NBC Philadelphia. One of the neighbors, who wished to remain anonymous, gave aid to the victims.

“And then she was mumbling,” said the neighbor. “She said, ‘Help me, help me.’ She came struggling down the steps. I told her, ‘I called the ambulance. Hold on, stay there.’ She was like, ‘My sons, my sons.’ I was like, ‘I have them. I have them. They’re safe.’”

It’s unclear if the neighbor who spoke to NBC Philadelphia was the same person who painted a grisly picture for ABC 6.

“I don’t know if they would have survived another stab wound, so I was willing to fight for those kids,” said the unnamed woman. “Nobody deserves that at all, what they went through.”

The neighbor said the woman collapsed on the stairs and was covered in so much blood that she couldn’t identify the individual stab wounds.

Another witness told CBS 3 Philly the boys were stabbed for trying to help their mother.

“They said he was stabbing the mom and the kids came down to help, and that’s how they got stabbed,” said the witness.

Local reports say Ni and the female victim were coworkers.

Both boys are expected to survive the attack.