Police intervene as man with large knife lunges at woman and infant, charges filed

A woman, her two infant twins and her aunt are safe and unharmed after a relative threatened and lunged at some of them with a large knife, Brooklyn Center police say.

Clyde Mutanga, 27, is charged with attempted murder and assault while using a dangerous weapon, according to the Hennepin County criminal complaint.

Brooklyn Center police say they responded to a domestic dispute call involving a knife at 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday at a home on the 1600 block of 68th Lane.

When they arrived, they met the caller, who was a victim, outside with one of her nine-month-old twins. The woman said her son, who had threatened to kill her with a large knife, was still inside the home along with her aunt and the other infant.

Charges say that when police knocked on the door, the other victim opened the door holding a child and officers saw Mutanga running down the hallway towards them. Officers told him to stop and show his hands, but Mutanga continue to charge at them. However, once he reached the door he turned toward the woman and lunged at her and the child with a 14-inch knife, trying to stab her.

An officer grabbed the arm of Mutanga as he tried to lunge at the woman again, who was now huddled over the infant on the ground, the press release says.

As officers tried to arrest Mutanga, he kicked at them and tried to spit at and bite officers, and police used a taser. During the struggle, an officer was also able to knock the knife out of the suspect’s hand, police say.

Mutanga was taken to Hennepin County Jail where he remains in custody with a $250,000 bond. His next court appearance is May 2.

The Brooklyn Center Police Department said that they were “extremely proud of the heroic actions taken by our officers during their response to this incident.”