Neighbors use BB gun to hold suspect after knife attack on Franklin County grandfather

A group of Mesa residents used a BB gun to keep a man from running away after he reportedly stabbed a grandfather Friday afternoon.

The 23-year-old suspect was following two elementary school girls near May Avenue and Farrell Street shortly before 3 p.m. when the girls’ grandfather confronted the man, Franklin County sheriff’s officials said in a news release.

The argument soon turned violent when the suspect stabbed the grandfather in the abdomen, according to police reports. He was flown to a local hospital.

When the man looked ready to run away, someone in the neighborhood used a BB gun to hold him at gunpoint until deputies arrived. He was arrested and taken to the Franklin County jail.

Investigators have not released the name of the suspect. And online jail logs had not been updated.