Kaegan Jude Solet (Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office/Houma Police Department)
A 6-year-old boy who ran to a neighbor’s house after he was stabbed multiple times during a deadly rampage in South Louisiana is being praised for his courage and quick-thinking.
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The child, who had to be airlifted to an out-of-area hospital for his critical injuries, was one of five people stabbed Saturday night inside a house in Houma. The child was the only survivor. The suspect, 47-year-old Kaegan Jude Solet, was arrested a day later.
What happened?
What we know:
A neighbor told WWL-TV that she was eating dinner with her family at home around 7:30 p.m. Saturday when her doorbell rang.
She saw a child run to the backdoor and try to get in, but the man chasing him grabbed him by the shoulders and “like, pushed him down, then hit him again.”
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The neighbors called 911, and the child lost consciousness shortly after.
When deputies arrived, they got the boy airlifted to a hospital, then found the other four victims dead next door.
Solet was identified as the suspect and arrested a day later on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder. As of Tuesday, Solet was being treated at an out-of-area hospital “for injuries that detectives feel very strongly were suffered during the commission of the crimes,” the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
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What they’re saying:
“This kid is an amazingly tough kid, and you’d have to know the magnitude of the injuries that he suffered to really understand the level of fight this kid must have in him,” Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office First Lieutenant Blake Tabor said.
The boy’s father shared on social media that he’s now in stable condition, Fox News Digital reports. He also shared comments from others referring to the child as a “superhero” for being so brave during the attack.
What we don’t know:
Investigators haven’t released a motive, but they did say Solet was acquainted with the victims and it wasn’t a random act of violence.
Solet’s criminal history
The backstory:
According to Fox News Digital, Solet was arrested in December 2019 after allegedly stabbing a 59-year-old woman repeatedly and leaving her locked inside a Houma motel room, police said at the time. A jury later found him not guilty, WWL-TV reports.
Solet was also “investigated for second-degree murder in 2019, but a grand jury declined to indict Solet, the Terrebonne Parish District Attorney told WWL.
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