A Florida high school senior is paralyzed after her ex-boyfriend allegedly stabbed her repeatedly outside of a restaurant on Saturday.
Madison Schemitz, 17, was eating at Mr. Chubby Wing’s in Ponte Vedra with her mother, Jacki Roge, and some friends when they spotted her ex-boyfriend Spencer Pearson,18, a recent graduate of Ponte Vedra High School, walking into the restaurant, First Coast News reported.
Schemtiz and Pearson had broken up a few months earlier, but his presence there sparked concern for Schemitz and her mother, as he had allegedly begun to stalk and harass the softball star in April. Schemitz’s oldest sister, Tatiana Cruceta, said her mother was attempting to get a restraining order against Pearson.
Friend Casey Estep said the mother and daughter immediately walked to the counter to pay their bill so they could leave. Pearson intercepted them in the parking lot and allegedly began to stab both of them.
Without hesitation, bystander Kennedy Armstrong came to their defense after seeing Pearson straddling the victim as he stabbed her, the New York Post reported.
“You see two girls in trouble getting attacked by a guy, I would hope most people would do the same,” Armstrong told First Coast News. “Kudos to the mom. I think she’s the real reason that girl is still alive.”
Armstrong didn’t realize he was injured until after the altercation was over. He had been stabbed in his arm and suffered several injuries in his right hand, causing him to need surgery. The ex-boyfriend attempted to kill himself by slicing his throat. All four were rushed to the hospital.
Both mother and daughter are in stable condition. However, Schemitz is temporarily paralyzed, as she had some spinal fluid leaking from her spinal cord.
The teenager has already undergone multiple surgeries, and her mother had surgery for a ruptured artery in her hand.
“Madison’s the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. She’s always smiling, always,” Cruceta told First Coast News. “So as soon as I answered the phone — we all call her ‘Sass,’ that’s her nickname — so I said, ‘How you doin’, Sass, how you feelin?’ And she goes ‘Oh just dandy.’ So she was cracking jokes and trying to be strong.”
A GoFundMe page was created to help with Schemitz and her mom’s medical costs. In two days, it has raised over $80,000.
Pearson is charged with two counts of first-degree attempted premeditated murder and aggravated battery. He is still hospitalized.
A CDC report found that more than 55% of female victims of homicide are killed by intimate partners.