DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A 3-year-old boy was stabbed by a neighbor Thursday in Deerfield Township. The first 911 calls came from his mother, still frantically checking him for wounds from the neighbor's ceramic knife, and a Mason City Schools teacher whose student witnessed the attack during a Zoom class.
"It's OK," the teacher reassured her crying student while still on the phone with police. "I'm here."
Sheriff's deputies said they arrived to Charleston Park Drive to find a 3-year-old boy who had been stabbed with a ceramic knife by a neighbor. School officials said the boy was walking to the bus with other children; the boy's mother told 911 he had been standing in the driveway holding a Baby Yoda toy when an adult woman attacked him.
Police later charged Xiaoyan Zhu, 46, with felonious assault in connection to the stabbing. Zhu is undergoing a mental health evaluation.
"That student stepped up, that teacher did a terrific job and immediately having the wherewithal to make sure the student was safe and to then call 911," Mason Schools spokesperson Tracy Carson said. "Even in tragedies like this we are grateful that there are little moments that give us hope."
The boy was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
Mindy Corradi, the teacher who called 911, released the following statement Thursday: "I'm grateful that I've been able to build relationships with my students - especially during the pandemic. I'm very thankful that my student trusted me, and we were able to get help. My heart is with both families, and I know our Comet Family is ready to support them."
