PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — A 17-year-old softball star and her mother were stabbed by her ex-boyfriend in a "targeted attack" while leaving a restaurant trying to avoid him, according to multiple reports.
Madison Schemitz, a rising senior and star athlete at Ponte Vedra High School team, was stabbed multiple times, including in the back, family members told First Coast News on Monday.
They say she suffered damage to her spinal cord in the attack and is currently paralyzed.
Schemitz was with her mother, Jacki Roge, and a few friends at Mr. Chubby's Wings when her ex-boyfriend, 18-year-old Spencer Pearson, walked in.
Casey Estep, who was eating with Schemitz and her mom at the restaurant shortly before the stabbing, told First Coast News that when Schemitz and her mom spotted Pearson, "They were like, 'Oh, we’ve got to go.'"
Estep said they asked for the check and tried to quietly leave, but before she could finish cashing out, Pearson took off running toward Schemitz and her mom.
Pearson held Schemitz with one arm and stabbed her about 15 times, according to NBC News. Her mother tried to intervene but was stabbed in the forehead and leg.
Kennedy Armstrong said he was in the parking lot when he heard people yelling and saw a man stabbing two women. He told First Coast News what happened next is a blur. He didn't realize until after the incident that he'd been hurt. Armstrong suffered severe injuries to his right hand, including damage to an artery and several ligaments.
Pearson, who is also hospitalized with self-inflicted injuries after trying to cut his own throat, is charged with two counts of first-degree attempted premeditated murder and aggravated battery.
Pearson's arrest warrant says he reportedly began to follow and harass Schemitz in April 2023.
"There were some issues in the past after they'd broken up, where he was threatening her safety. My mother was looking to get a restraining order against him, so this was definitely premeditated," Tatiana Cruceta, Madison's oldest sibling said "Madison is a fighter, you know. She’s going to make it through this, and I know she is going to walk out of this hospital.”
Cruseda said Schemitz and Pearson dated but have been broken up for a few months.
Cruceta says the teen has already undergone multiple surgeries, and that her mother had surgery Monday for a ruptured artery in her hand.
“Madison’s the sweetest person you’ll ever meet, she’s always smiling, always," Cruceta said. "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.”
First Coast News contributed to this report.