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Police: Mom chained, stabbed 7-year-old son while he lay in bed

LAKE WALES, Fla. — Police said a Polk County mother is being held on no bond after she chained her 7-year-old son's hands together and then stabbed him in the chest while he lay in bed Tuesday morning.

Maisa Alvarez, 42, is facing attempted murder charges and investigators said they still have no idea what prompted the attack.

On any normal day, the 7-year-old would wake up and head off to school. On Tuesday morning, Lake Wales police said the boy woke up to something that's almost too shocking to imagine.

"He woke up to his mother chaining his hands," said Lake Wales Deputy Police Chief Troy Schulze.

Police said once Alvarez bound her son, she stabbed him with a steak knife several times in the chest. She eventually stopped and called 911 to report her crime.

By the time investigators arrived they said the knife and the two-and-a-half-foot-long chain Alvarez used to tie up the boy's hands were lying on a dresser.

"It seems like when her child defended, and reached up and put his hands up to make a defensive action against the stabbing, that's when she realized what was going on. And that's when she stopped," said Schulze.

Detectives tried to interrogate Alvarez, but she couldn't tell them why she did it and only said she didn't know.

That's partly why neighbors are speechless.

"I can't believe it. I'm just, you know, I'm just in shock. I was very upset," said neighbor Cynthia Campbell.

"They were very nice. That's why it's surprising. It's crazy," said neighbor Kamilah Joseph.

Police officers were taken aback by the brutal crime.

"Our heart goes out to that little boy. I couldn't imagine it. I wouldn't want to," said Schulze.

The boy is recovering at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando. Amazingly, his injuries are not considered life-threatening.

Alvarez is being held without bond.