Girl hospitalized after Sarasota stabbing

A 6-year-old Sarasota girl was recovering from multiple stab wounds Friday and her mother was in jail, charged with trying to kill her.

It was around 12:30 when officers were called to the 2100 block of Leon Avenue for a reported stabbing. They found the girl -- whose name was not released -- at the scene.

The girl was taken to the hospital with multiple lacerations, according to emergency crews. She remains in critical condition, but stable.

Meanwhile, police arrested Ashley Parker, the girl's mother and charged her with attempted murder. Investigators did not immediately explain what led to the girl's stabbing.

Witnesses told FOX 13 there were about 10 neighborhood kids playing outside while the scene unfolded.

"It's horrible. It could have been anybody's child. It could have been somebody walking down the street, anybody," said Billijo Zobrist, who lives nearby. "It's horrible that this child had to go through that. It messed the whole neighborhood up. We all know the little girl."

Zobrist's 10-year-old daughter, Anastasia, was among the children who saw paramedics rush the victim out of the home.

"I was really scared," Anastasia said. "I was going to cry because I felt bad for the little girl and what she's been going through."

Parker has been arrested at least once before. She faced a child neglect charge in 2009 in Sarasota County.