SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – A Springfield police officer was stabbed in the chest Wednesday by a 14-year-old boy who had refused for days to get out of bed, authorities said.
The officer was called to an apartment just before 11 a.m. by the boy's mother. The teen has a history of violence, and police responded to a similar call on Feb. 1, police spokesman John Delaney said.
The teen, whose mother said had not been out of bed for two days, was surrounded by pillows with a blanket over him that hid his hands and appeared to be in a "catatonic-like state," Delaney said.
When the officer tried to lift the teen and take him to an ambulance, the boy stabbed him, Delaney said. The officer, a 20-year veteran, was not wearing a bulletproof vest, and the blade went into his chest up to the handle.
A second officer disarmed the teenager.
The injured officer, whose name was not made public, was taken to Baystate Medical Center with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
The boy was charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer. He was in custody, awaiting evaluation Wednesday at the city's juvenile holding center, Delaney said.
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