The Story: Woman attacked by coworker

A woman and her two sons were attacked and stabbed on the street outside of their home. A man walks up behind her and stabs her multiple times. The young boys come to help her and the man attacked and stabbed them and as well. This all happened on a normal, sunny afternoon in Philadelphia, PA.

The Details: Mother and her 2 sons stabbed in daylight Philadelphia attack: “She came stumbling down the steps”

“The woman suffered multiple wounds and was brought to a hospital, where she is in critical condition. Officials said the attacker also stabbed her 15-year-old son twice in the back of his head and her 10-year-old son once in the back of his head and once in his left leg, according to officials. They’re both in stable condition.”

A coworker attacked a woman as she and her children were walking home one Sunday afternoon. The woman was unaware that there was a problem until a man started stabbing her repeatedly. Her sons heard her cries of pain and ran to assist her. Each member of the family was injured in the brutal attack.

Thankfully a neighbor saw the attack taking place and immediately acted. She confronted the attacker and helped the boys get to safety. The attacker, who was the survivor’s coworker, slowly and calmly walked away. The police and ambulance were called and were able to get to the injured woman in time to save her life.

Police say about two hours after the attack, the suspected attacker turned himself in. Police have not yet released his name.

What Can We Learn?

A woman is walking home with her children and a coworker attacks. What can we take away from this? Be careful of your surroundings, as always. Be aware of the people in your life that may not be there to bring positivity. Sadly, many attacks are perpetrated by people we know. This can make our situational awareness much more difficult.

The key in any attack is time and distance. Do anything you can to create even just a moment of time for you to create distance between you and the attacker. If necessary, repeat over and over again. Every moment and every inch of time and space between you and an attacker takes you that much closer to survival.

Don’t assume that you are safe because you are with your children. All the momma bears out there know that there are times when you will have to protect your children. In order to do that, you need to do whatever you can to prepare for the worst. Take a self-defense class, carry pepper gel, if you have a concealed carry license, carry your gun when you can. Train, train, train! Keep up with your training and education so you can react quickly and effectively in any situation.

Original story published by CBS News