Mute Autistic Boy Stabbed in Eyes

LAUDERHILL, Fla. (AP) -- A woman stabbed her 12-year-old autistic nephew in both eyes with a military-style dagger, likely leaving him permanently blind, police said.

The woman then stabbed herself in one eye after attacking the boy on Friday, police said.

Relatives, for unclear reasons, waited more than 10 hours before calling 911, police said. No charges have been filed and no names have been released.

The woman gave no reason for the stabbing and the boy is mute, police said.

''The preliminary prognosis is that the child is going to be blind,'' said Lt. Rick Rocco, spokesman for the Lauderhill Police Department.

The boy lives with his grandmother in the South Florida community.

''She adored that child,'' neighbor Peggy Burrows said. ''Sometimes the boy would be running around the lawn in his underwear, but we rarely saw him. They keep mostly to themselves.''

Neighbor Joanne Kull said the aunt ''looked very angry'' as police pulled her away.