Police use beanbag gun to subdue woman who'd just stabbed a four-year-old in East Boston

Boston Police report a woman who'd gotten into an argument with the boy's father grabbed his four-year-old son and stabbed him shortly before 6:50 p.m. yesterday at 106 Paris St. WCVB reports she slashed the boy's neck.

Police say people who witnessed the attack managed to grab the boy away from her and his father rushed him to the East Boston Health Center on Gove St. She then locked herself in a bedroom before officers arrived, police say:

She refused to unlock the door after numerous verbal commands from the officers. Under the direction of the supervisor on scene, officers used a battering ram to gain access to the room. Once inside, officers observed the suspect holding a thin serrated blade, approximately 3 inches in length in her right hand. The supervisor gave the suspect multiple commands in English and in Spanish to drop the weapon. After she refused to comply with all verbal commands, the supervisor engaged the suspect with the police department-issued less-lethal shotgun, causing the suspect to drop the blade immediately. Officers were able to place the suspect in custody after a brief but violent struggle without any further injury to the suspect.

The boy was taken to Boston Medical Center and is expected to survive, police say. The woman was taken to Mass. General for observation. Once released from there she will be charged with a variety of charges, police say.