Cops: Kin stabbed Lauderhill teen in both eyes
By Joel Marino and Andrew Tran | Sun-Sentinel.com
4:16 PM EST, November 30, 2007

LAUDERHILL - A boy was stabbed by a dagger in both eyes by a family member on Friday at 1 a.m., but authorities were not alerted till 10 hours after the incident.

The autistic and mute child, between 12 and 14 years old, was stabbed at the 8500 block of NW 53rd Street, said Lt. Rick Rocco, a Lauderhill police spokesman. Rocco described the knife as a "fixed-blade" and "military-styled."

Detectives were still trying to determine exactly what happened and in what capacity the family member was involved, said Rocco. However, the family member had also sustained an eye injury, he said.

"It's a pretty gruesome case," he said.

The child was unable to see by the time an emergency unit arrived on the scene, said Lauderhill Fire Rescue spokesman Jeff Levy.

The cause of the incident or the reason for the delay in contacting authorities was unknown.

Both the family member and child were taken to Broward General Medical Center. The child will be transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami to meet with doctors who specialize in eye injuries, Rocco said.