By Michael Winter, USA TODAY

A 21-year-old woman stopped a deranged father who was slashing his son's arms in a San Diego cemetery, U-T San Diego reports.

Jaymisha Pires was visiting the Mount Hope Cemetery on Saturday afternoon with a friend when they spotted the man with three young children. He began slashing his 8-year-old son, saying, "We're going to Jesus."

"My motherly instincts kicked in when I saw him hurting that little boy," said Pires, whose children are 6 and 2.

The man, identified as Joseph Ramirez, 30, of San Diego, pushed his son aside and fled, but was tackled by a 60-year-old security guard. Pires' friend wrapped a T-shirt around the boy's bleeding arms before he was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Ramirez was also taken to the hospital. He reportedly had been hearing his dead grandmother's voice, police said. He faces charges of child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.