Bronx Grandmother Charged With Stabbing 7-Year-Old Granddaughter

A Bronx woman has been charged with stabbing her 7-year-old granddaughter, who remains in critical but stable condition, the police said on Wednesday.

The woman, Maritza Yauger, 65, was charged with attempted murder, attempted manslaughter, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child, according to a New York Police Department spokeswoman.

On Tuesday, around 8 a.m., Ms. Yauger was at her apartment on Clinton Avenue near East 169th Street in the Bronx neighborhood of Morrisania when she stabbed the girl, according to the police and public records.

At 8:17 a.m., emergency service workers received a call about the stabbing, and arrived at Ms. Yauger’s residence about five minutes later, according to a New York Fire Department spokesman.

The girl was in critical condition when she was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in the Bronx for treatment, the police said.

The police did not answer questions regarding the type of weapon used, or the extent of the girl’s injuries. Her name has also not yet been released.

Ms. Yauger was in a hospital Wednesday morning and her arraignment was still pending, according to a spokeswoman for the Bronx district attorney.

A woman at Ms. Yauger’s residence on Tuesday, who identified herself as Ms. Yauger’s daughter, declined to comment on the matter.

Hours after the girl was stabbed, officers were still inside Ms. Yauger’s apartment, the top unit in a three-story red brick building on a quiet Bronx block. Residents there said they barely knew Ms. Yauger, and most had never seen the little girl. A few who had seen the child said they saw her with a small dog.

Ana Martínez, 35, said neighbors witnessed an emergency service worker rush out of the building carrying the little girl.

“This is the first time I ever heard something like that around here,” said Ms. Martínez, who has lived in the neighborhood for 13 years. “We’re actually shocked.”