13-Year-Old Boy Charged in Serious Stabbing Incident

WORCESTER, MA—A teenager has been charged with assault and attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a man in the chest and coming dangerously close to his heart.

At about 12:50 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, police headed to an Albert Street apartment, where a male was reportedly bleeding. They met with a 33-year-old victim who was bleeding from a puncture wound to his chest. He was conscious and alert and said he was walking near Illinois and Grand Street when two young men approached him and said something. Police said couldn't understand what it was, though, because he doesn't speak English.

The victim tried to walk away from the two boys when one of them struck him in the chest and knocked him to the ground. The boy then allegedly stabbed and kicked him. At first, the victim thought he had been punched. Soon, however, he realized he had been stabbed, police said. The victim ran and called an ambulance. He was treated at the scene and then brought to a nearby hospital for further care of a serious stab wound.

The suspected stabber was described as a young and thin black male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants. The second suspect was described as a young male with a light complexion, also wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Two males fitting that description were spotted a short time later in the area of Canterbury and Cambridge Streets. Both were identified; one is 19, the other is 13. At police headquarters, WPD detectives interviewed the 19-year-old suspect but did not speak with the 13-year-old until a parent or guardian could be located. In separate police interviews, the teens gave conflicting stories.

Although investigators at the hospital reported that the victim had suffered a potentially life-threatening injury, he is expected to survive.

Police charged the 13-year-old with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (knife and shod foot), as well as armed assault with intent to murder. The juvenile will be arraigned at a date that has yet to be determined.