A man in Anaheim, California, was arrested Tuesday after apparently attempting to kill his estranged wife with two large butcher knives at their son’s flag football game, officials said.
The alleged attack occurred Friday at Chapman Sports Complex, where the 40-year-old mother was watching her son practice when he alerted her that his father was “charging across the field” behind her carrying two butcher knives, Garden Grove police said.
The woman ran onto the playing field and yelled for help as her husband reportedly chased after her.
Witnesses included an off-duty Garden Grove police officer and the victim’s 9-year-old son, who intervened in the attack and prevented the man from harming his wife, KTLA 5 reported. The man was restrained until authorities arrived at the scene.
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The husband accused of carrying the blades, 43-year-old Russell Husges, was arrested at the scene. He was charged with one felony count of attempted murder, one count of felony assault with a deadly weapon, one misdemeanor count of disobeying a domestic relations court order, and one misdemeanor count of child abuse and endangerment, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
“No one should be subjected to violence for making the decision to leave a relationship, and no child should have to intervene to stop one parent from attacking another,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The act itself is horrific, but to attempt to carry out this kind of violence in front of innocent children and their parents is the stuff of nightmares.”
Husges faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He is being held at the Orange County Jail. Deputy District Attorney Diana King of the Family Protection Unit is prosecuting the case.
It is not clear what prompted the attack, but the victim had been granted a family court order against her estranged husband weeks before, the district attorney’s office said.
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The Washington Examiner contacted the Orange County District Attorney’s Office but did not immediately receive a response.
