KNOXVILLE (WVLT) – A young man will be charged with Especially Aggravated Kidnapping and Aggravated Criminal Trespassing after trying to abduct a two year old boy in northwest Knoxville.
Police said the call came into 911 as a “disturbance” on Friday afternoon around 1:00 PM. When they arrived on the scene in the 4600 block of Pleasant Ridge Road, the toddler’s grandfather told officers that he was outside walking with his grandson when they were approached by the suspect, later identified as Christopher Widby, 23.
Widby allegedly started ranting to the grandfather and referring to himself as Jesus. Then he lifted the two year old off the ground and tried to carry him away. The grandfather said he tried to wrestle his grandson from the suspect, but as he was being overpowered, decided to use his pocket knife in self-defense.
The suspect was stabbed four times before he quickly retreated down the road. Police said he walked about a block away and kicked in the door to a unit at the Pleasant Ridge Apartment complex.
Officers found him in the unit a short time later, and said that after a brief struggle, they were able to subdue him and call in an ambulance.
Widby remained hospitalized at the University of Tennessee Medical Center on Friday night. His injuries were described as non-life threatening, and he is being guarded by KPD officers. Investigators said he would likely be released and then booked sometime on Saturday.
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