INDIANAPOLIS — A 16-year-old Indianapolis teenager is accused of stabbing a woman in the head at a southeast side park Sunday night.
According court documents, shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 27, IMPD responded to a report of a person stabbed at Sandorf Park, near East Raymond Street and I-65 on the near southeast side of Indianapolis.
As officers were responding, they received a follow-up call from a man who said his son was having emotional problems and that they were located in front of a liquor store on East Raymond Street.
Court documents say an IMPD officer arrived in a fully-marked police vehicle and saw people, an adult male and juvenile male, fighting on the sidewalk. The officer noted in the court documents that they found a knife on the sidewalk near the Dollar Tree, which is located next to the liquor store. The juvenile was then placed under arrest.
Around the same time, a different IMPD officer responded to Sandorf Park and found a woman with a stab wound to the back of her head. While being treated, court documents say the woman told police that she was in the park with her young daughter when she saw a teenage boy walk aggressively toward a group of teenagers while holding a knife in his hand.
Joanna Green said she left the park Sunday afternoon with blood dripping down her neck and back instead of fond memories with her daughter.
"It could have been anybody. Anybody," said Green.
Green said she was hanging out at the park with her little girl when she noticed a teenager with a knife taking swipes at kids playing.
She said as she went to grab her daughter to leave, the teen put his focus on her.
"He turned around and said, 'Do you think this is funny?' And I said, 'No.' and he struck me the first time on the left side of the head with the knife and then the second time he said, 'Do you?' and he struck me again on the right side of the neck," recalled Green.
Green's 6-year-old daughter watched the attack unfold right in front of her.
"She was in the backseat of the car screaming, 'Shut the door mommy, let's go, let's go.' And I told her, 'I can't go, I'm bleeding too bad,'" said Green.
Court documents say the teen then ran away in an unknown direction. Green was taken to Eskenazi Hospital for additional treatment.
The teen's father told police he and his son live near the park. He saw his son interacting with another group of kids and that they were beginning to back away from him. The father reportedly told police that he assumed his son was saying inappropriate things to the other kids and that he has done so previously.
According to court documents, 13News learned that teenager has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD.
Court documents say the father went up to his son and asked his son what he said to the group that made them leave the area. The teen reportedly told his father that he was saying "nasty" things to the other kids. That's when the father reportedly told his son to come inside the house.
When the teen went to his room, the father told police that he began throwing items across his room but later calmed down and was allowed to go back outside. That's when the father told police he received a phone call informing him that his son was running around outside trying to stab people.
The father then reportedly ran after his on foot after seeing him running around with what was described as a steak knife in his hand. Court documents say the father chased his son from the park to the Dollar Tree store on East Raymond Street. The two had a scuffle which eventually led to the father throwing his son to the ground and grabbing the knife from him.
According to court documents, during the investigation, the teen reportedly told police "several times" that he was going to take guns from the officers. The teen also reportedly was mumbling random words that did not make sense, so officers did not take any statements from the teen, given his mental state.
After a trip to the hospital and a few days of rest, Green returned to the place where she was attacked, but as a different woman.
And while the teenager may have left Green with some bruising and a few staples, she hopes what happened will change him as much as it changed her.
"I just hope he gets the help that he needs and the help that he deserves because no matter what, he's still just 16 years old," said Green.
Green also wants other women and mothers out there to remember, no matter where you are, to always be aware of your surroundings.
The teen was arrested and charged with attempted murder. While he was taken to the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center, he's still being charged as an adult.
An initial hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31 at 9 a.m.