Mother of Harris Co. 12-year-old, accused of stabbing neighbor, speaks out about son's mental health struggles
Mother of 12-year-old stabbing suspect says he's full of regret
FOX 26 Reporter Damali Keith spoke with the mother about the boy's remorse about what happened.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - The mother of a 12-year-old, who's accused of stabbing a neighbor, says her son is full of regret.
Khadijah says visiting her son in a juvenile detention center is something she never thought would be her reality. But it is after her 12-year-old was charged with stabbing a nearly 60-year-old woman.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Harris County woman stabbed; 12-year-old boy charged
"I just keep talking to God. Oh God, it's me again. Let's do this. We've got to get through this."
Khadijah says praying and crying have replaced eating and sleeping since Saturday when her two sons, 7 and 12-years-old, were captured on another neighbor's home camera walking up a neighbor's driveway. Investigators say the 12-year-old went into the 59-year-old woman's garage and stabbed her several times.
"It hurts so bad. Because first, it was a woman. It's a woman he did this to. Also, because it's my child. It's my child."
The boys’ mom had been at work when the stabbing occurred. Her mother was watching her children and Khadijah soon received the tragic news.
"I just started screaming and hollering. I couldn't compose myself. I was hurt. Once I saw the video, I just dropped my head. I lost it."
Khadijah says her 12-year-old was diagnosed with mental illness when he was eight and has been getting treatment since and has had several stays in mental health hospitals.
He's now locked up in juvenile detention.
"He's really scared, and he's really regretful about what he did. He wishes he could take it back. He doesn't understand why he can't come home."
Surveillance video captures kids on bicycles
Surveillance video captured the moments a 12-year-old rode up on a bicycle and allegedly attacked a woman. The video has been blurred due to the age of the children.
Why did he do it?
"He says she was cussing at them, and yelling at them and trying to hit them with a rake. (Did he tell you why he took it upon himself to try to handle it?) He said he blacked out. Son, why didn't you tell somebody? Why did you go do that? Just why? All I can say is why," says the distraught mother.
After the confrontation with the woman, the boys came back to her home minutes later wearing gloves before she was stabbed.
"Now that part right there really got me. It really shook me. Where did you get that from?" Khadijah asks.
She says the son she knows loves school, is on the honor roll, and friendly.
"I never thought my son would do something like this. I pray she's ok, which I know now she's OK. I pray she gets the help she needs, as well as my son, gets the help he needs."
The woman who was stabbed is now in stable condition. Neighbors say she too suffers from mental illness.
Earlier Saturday before she was stabbed, the Harris County Sheriff's Office says deputies were called to the woman’s home because she was attempting to hit and steal from her landscapers.
"I just want to say I’m sorry again, because I am sorry. I'm truly sorry. I always felt like my son needed a little more help than what he was receiving. If there's anything else anybody wants to recommend for him, please tell me, don't feel scared to tell me. Let me know what y'all recommend. I want my son to get help."
Khadijah says Saturday was the first time her sons rode their bikes on another street without her. She says not only has her son seriously hurt someone, and likely his own future, she says her other children are also very affected by this.
She says her 7-year-old's school is being very supportive and he is now attending school isolated from other children.