Hero 12-year-old saved great grandparents' lives after wrestling knife away from brother who was stabbing them
HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: A 12-year-old is being hailed a hero for jumping in to save the lives of his great-grandparents after his elder brother started stabbing them.
Lucian Johnston, 20, was arrested Monday morning and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, authorities said, because he allegedly started stabbing his great-grandparents -- 92-year-old woman and her 76-year-old husband -- in the head and neck, after an argument broke out between the accused and the victims when they were traveling in a car.
His great-grandparents apparently told Johnston that he could no longer stay at their home because of his "behavioral issues", which infuriated him. The elderly couple was dropping the accused off at a friend's house and he was told that he couldn't return until he was evaluated by a doctor, ABC News reported.
That "set him off" and Johnston allegedly stabbed his great-grandmother first and then his great-grandfather.
The accused's half-brother, who has not been identified because he is a minor, was traveling in the same vehicle when the incident took place and immediately wrestled the pocket knife out of the 20-year-old's hands and flung it out of the car window.
In an update to the case, the Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted Monday, saying, "The adults are actually his great grandparents. Both are recovering well. The real hero in this ordeal, is a 12-year-old that was also in the backseat at the time of the brutal attack. He managed to wrestle the knife away from Johnston & threw it out."
He added that the 12-year-old, by his presence of mind, "truly prevented a double-murder."
The victims who suffered non-life threatening wounds were released from the hospital and are expected to make a complete recovery, officials said.
Johnston fled the scene following the stabbing and was at-large through the night, authorities said. He was finally spotted behind a home on Monday morning and was taken into custody without incident, sheriff's officials said. He was being held in the Harris County Jail, as per records.