Santa Rosa police arrested a 24-year-old man Saturday whom they said attacked a woman in her yard with a kitchen knife, cutting her on the forearms and wrists before she was able to fight him off.
Police said the attack appeared to be unprovoked and by a man the woman said she did not know.
It ended when the woman's husband heard her screams from inside their home in the 2800 block of Sunnywood Circle in southwest Santa Rosa, police reported. The husband was able to pull the suspect away, secure the knife and detain the man until police arrived, officers reported.
Police arrested Alexander John Mahan of Santa Rosa on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
The woman, who police did not identify, was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that Santa Rosa Sgt. Brad Conners characterized as minor.
The fight was reported in a 3:25 p.m. emergency call. Police said it was not clear what prompted the incident.
The woman was standing in her front yard when she was approached by Mahan with the knife, Conners said. They had not been talking and do not appear to know each other, he said. He added that Mahan may live in the area.
Conners said said detectives were interviewing neighbors and looking into Mahan's history to determine a possible motive. There were no other known witnesses to the confrontation.
Mahan also was taken to a hospital for treatment of superficial injuries he sustained in the incident.
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