HOUSTON – Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez is calling a 12-year-old boy a “hero” after he stopped his 20-year-old half-brother from stabbing their great-grandparents Sunday.
Officials say Lucian Adrian Johnston and the preteen were in a vehicle with their 92-year-old great-grandmother and 76-year-old great-grandfather Sunday when an argument began. The couple was driving Johnston to a friend’s house because his behavioral issues were becoming more aggressive, officials said.
When the great-grandmother told Johnston that he can’t come home until he gets evaluated by a doctor, he attacked her with a knife as the vehicle was coming to a stop, officials said. He then attacked his great-grandfather with the knife as well, officials said.
“Johnston began stabbing both victims from the backseat in the head and neck with a pocket knife,” officials wrote in a press release.
That’s when Johnston’s little brother stepped in.
“The real hero in this ordeal, is a 12-year-old that was also in the backseat at the time of the brutal attack,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted. “He managed to wrestle the knife away from Johnston & threw it out the window which successfully stopped the attack.”
The great-grandparents told deputies that if it wasn’t for their 12-year-old grandson, they believe Johnston would have killed them, officials said.
In another tweet, Gonzalez said the boy “truly prevented a double murder.”
Johnston fled when the vehicle stopped in the 4200 block of Mount Vinson Way, officials said.
Monday morning, deputies discovered Johnston hiding behind a home in the Mason Lakes subdivision and he was arrested. He faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Officials said the great-grandmother received five staples to her head and the great-grandfather received stitches on his neck.
Both victims are expected to recover from their non-life-threatening stab wounds.
The couple told investigators that Johnston had violent tendencies, but not to this extent, officials said.
A judge Tuesday set Johnston’s bail at $240,000. A protective order was also issued for the two victims.