"He's truly a hero": Sheriff praises teenager who protected little sister in chaotic knife attack

14-year-old praised for protecting sister against father's knife-wielding girlfriend

A 14-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero after stepping in to save his little sister from a woman with a knife.

OSCEOLA COUNTY - A 14-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero after stepping in to save his little sister from a woman with a knife.

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office says the kids' father and his lover, Doris Espinoza-Rodriguez got into a fight.

The Sheriff's Office says that a fight began at dinner, but continued once the two got home. Sheriff Marco Lopez says the woman climbed onto a chair holding a knife, and the arrest report says she yelled that she would "go out in a bang."

That's when the Sheriff's Office says she ran inside and stabbed her lover's 10-year-old daughter near her neck, and the girl's 14-year-old brother stepped in to help.

"He immediately ran in there trying to save the life of his little sister – which he potentially, probably did – and received stab wounds in the process. He’s truly a hero. It just goes to show the love of a sibling, and how far you’ll go to defend your sister or your brother. My hat really goes off to this young man," said Sheriff Lopez.

The Sheriff's Office says the kids' father ran over to wrestle the knife from Espinoza Rodriguez and was also hurt. While the dad was disarming his lover, the Sheriff says the 14-year-old boy called 911.

Thursday, FOX 35 News spoke exclusively with the kids' mother about this incident. Jennifer Ricks told FOX 35 she'd been on FaceTime with her daughter, when the girl stepped away for a moment and was stabbed.

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"She came back to the phone and said, ‘Mom, Mommy, I’m bleeding.’ She just had blood everywhere," recounted Ricks. "It took a few days for me to talk to my son, and I feel like he got it the worst. He was protecting his sister."

Espinoza-Rodriguez is now charged with two counts of attempted premeditated murder, two counts of attempted felony murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse, and one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

The Sheriff says the word "Attempted" in those charges is thanks to the teenager's quick action.

"It’s always amazing what people will do when they’re put in these types of situations. Even though he was 14 years old, it was his sister and he knew her life was in danger, and she could actually die. He immediately ran in there trying to save the life of his little sister – which he potentially did – and received stab wounds in the process. He’s truly a hero," Sheriff Lopez added.