Man arrested for stabbing co-worker and his two young sons as they tried to protect their mother

A Philadelphia woman remains in critical condition after her co-worker allegedly stabbed her and her two young sons while they tried to arrest him.

Officers from the 15th District responded to reports of an armed man on Knorr Street shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, according to a statement from the Philadelphia Police Department sent to Oxygen.com. Police found an unnamed 37-year-old Asian woman in a private residence who had been “stabbed multiple times all over her body.” The attacker had fled.

With the victim were two men aged 15 and 10 – later reported as the woman's sons, according to NBC Philadelphia. The older man was stabbed twice in the back of the head and the younger man was also stabbed in the back of the head and left leg, according to police.

Police say the boys are in stable condition.

Hengjian Ni, 39, turned himself in to police and was taken to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital to be formally identified by the victims. Ni, who has an address in New York, was arrested and charged with three counts each: simple assault, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and attempted murder. He was also charged with weapons possession, burglary and attempted rape.

Neighbors said one of the boys ran into the street covered in blood, alerting residents that his mother and brother had just been stabbed, according to NBC Philadelphia. One of the neighbors, who wished to remain anonymous, helped the victims.

“And then she was mumbling,” says the neighbor. “She said, 'Help me, help me.' She went down the steps with difficulty. I told him: “I called the ambulance. Wait, stay there. She said: “My sons, my sons. » I was like, “I have them. I have them. They are safe.

It's unclear if the neighbor who spoke to NBC Philadelphia was the same person who painted a grisly picture for ABC 6.

“I don’t know if they would have survived another stabbing, so I was ready to fight for these children,” the anonymous woman said. “No one deserves this, what he went through.”

The neighbor said the woman collapsed on the stairs and was covered in so much blood she couldn't identify the various stab wounds.

Another witness told CBS 3 Philly that the boys were stabbed for trying to help their mother.

“They said he was stabbing the mother and the children came to help him, and that’s how they got stabbed,” the witness said.

Local reports indicate that Ni and the victim were co-workers.

Both boys are expected to survive the attack.