Newark mother in custody after 5-year-old boy stabbed

NEWARK, NJ - A strong police presence surrounded a home Monday evening on the corner of Murray and Brunswick streets in Newark after police said a 5-year-old boy was stabbed, authorities said.

FOX 5 NY observed first responders going in and out of the home, taking pictures and collecting evidence from the second floor of the apartment – carrying out a brown bag with what appeared to be the weapon inside. 

Phillip Valentine said he knows the parents at the apartment, saying they’ve lived there for about two years, and he came by curious if everyone was OK.

"For that to happen it’s very weird, very weird," he said, telling FOX 5 NY the child’s stabbing comes as a shock. "I see the kid in the background when they’re doing barbecues and stuff, always you know running around and being a kid, that’s all."

A strong police presence surrounded a home on the corner of Murray and Brunswick streets in Newark.

Though police took the child’s mother into custody following the stabbing, it remains unclear if she’ll face any charges. 

Parents, children and drivers passed by with all their eyes on the home at the center the crime scene as the child recovers in the hospital. 

"That shouldn’t happen to no child at all, for no type of reason," another neighbor added. "That is crazy. Everybody don’t deserve kids everybody doesn’t deserve kids."

The child is reported to be in stable condition.