Boy stabbed on the way to school on Staten Island

MARINERS HARBOR (WABC) -- A 9-year-old boy was stabbed on his way to school on Staten Island Friday morning.

Jermaine Culver, who attends PS 44, was stabbed three times in the neck, arm and back of the head at the intersection of Leyden Avenue and Union Avenue in the Mariner's Harbor section.

In the chilling surveillance video you can see 9-year-old Jermaine Culver walking his familiar route to school near Union and Leyden Avenues when a stranger suddenly sneaks up behind him.

Moments later, this unidentified man nearly twice his size brutally attacks the small boy with a knife stabbing him three times.

Family members say Jermaine briefly passed out before he managed to slip away and run home for help.

"My mother was crying like a mother would do," said Malik Williams, the victim's brother. "I was shocked. I wouldn't think this would happen to my 9-year-old brother."

Jermaine's older brother, Malik, says they didn't realize the full extent of his injuries until he reached the hospital where doctors discovered stab wounds to the back of Jermaine's head, neck, and arm. Despite several stitches his family says he remains in good spirits.

"He's a very happy kid. I don't understand who would do something like that," a friend of the family said. "He's only nine, you got to think about who would do that to a 9-year-old, it's really heartless."

For several hours Friday, police combed the surrounding area for any clues that would point to the man behind this vicious attack.

Meanwhile, Jermaine's family is hoping the surveillance video will help generate tips that will put this person behind bars.

"Tell somebody because if this was their little brother they would want the same thing," Williams said.

Jermaine is surrounded by family and remains in good spirits despite this very scary ordeal.

He's expected to be released from Richmond University Medical Center Saturday.

No arrests were immediately made, and police were searching for a suspect.