A mother in Bennington was stabbed four times in the back as she struggled to protect her two young sons from an attacker. It happened about 3:45pm Monday as the mother was walking her two boys in the neighborhood.

Investigators say the woman, Amy Phillips, was walking in the area of 153rd and Davidson when she was approached by Jason Billingsley. Billingsley grabbed the 4-year-old boy and told Phillips if she didn't give him a ride he was going to kill the boy.

Billingsley then made a slashing motion with his finger across the boy's neck.

Phillips' other son is 3 years old.

Phillips grabbed her boys and was shielding them from Billingsley as she tried to move away. That's when she was stabbed in the back. Her injuries are not considered life-threatening, but at midday Tuesday she was still in a hospital.

A Bennington volunteer firefighter, Eric Meads, followed Billingsley and relayed his location with a 911 portable radio. Meads is also an Omaha Police Officer. He tells Channel 6 News Producer Roger Hamer that when Billingsley was arrested he had two box cutters and a 4-inch knife in his possession.

Meads says that Billingsley was displaying erratic behavior, that a couple of times he got down into a three-point stance and appeared as though he was going to charge an on-coming car.

Billingsley was charged with assault in the second degree, use of a weapon to commit a felony, and making terroristic threats.