19-year-old arrested on assault charges in Battle Ground stabbing

Police arrested a Battle Ground 19-year-old, identified Thursday as Austin R. Puckett, on suspicion of first-degree domestic violence assault for allegedly stabbing his mother Wednesday, according to the Battle Ground Police Department.

Officers were called to Battle Ground Mobile Estates, 300 S.W. 7th Avenue, Wednesday afternoon, after a woman called 911 to say her adult son had stabbed her in the hand. The woman, Heather R. Puckett, was able to flee to a neighbor’s house, police said.

The department said initial information indicated the suspect first fled on foot to Kiwanis Park, but responding officers later found he had returned to his home.

The police said Austin Puckett left the home while officers were starting to secure a perimeter around the home. He was compliant at first, then suddenly charged officers and resisted arrest, prompting an officer to use a stun gun, according to police.

Puckett had a knife when arrested, police said, and officers found another knife, thought to have been used in the inital assault, nearby.

Investigators found the suspect apparently tried to stab his mother in the chest, and the woman was hurt when she grabbed at the knife to protect herself. Medical personnel evaluated her at the scene, but she refused transport to a hospital at the time, the police said. No one else was injured.

Puckett was arrested pending charges of first-degree domestic violence assault and third-degree assault.