A brave young son saved his mother and risked his own safety as he protected her from three masked attackers . Deonte Turner , 12 , was with his mother , Barbara Whitehead , as they returned from her sister 's house in the early morning hours of Tuesday . As they pulled into the driveway of their Detroit home , three men suddenly appeared and began cursing at Whitehead and demanding she give them money . That is when young Deonte stepped in to protect his mother , and one of the men stabbed him in the arm . Scroll down for video . Deonte Turner ( above ) , 12 , of Detroit , Michigan , stepped in to protect his mother as three masked men yelled profanities at her and demanded her money . The incident happened when Barbara Whithead ( above ) got out of her car in her driveway ( in background ) after returning home in the early hours of Tuesday . ' I told them we did n't have any damn money , but he just kept asking for money . And he kept talking really rough and in vulgar language , ' Whitehead told the Detroit Free Press . 'And my son , he did n't like them talking to his mom like that . ' That is when Deonte stepped in to intervene . 'He just told them do n't talk to my mom like that . And then he saw it coming because he threw his arm up , ' Whitehead said of the knife . 'He was like , `` My arm , my arm . '' ' The men ran off immediately after , and Whitehead , 44 , rushed her son to the hospital where he was treated and released later that morning . 'He did n't cry . My son did n't cry , ' said Whitehead . 'He was like , `` Is Mom OK ? '' ' Denote placed himself between the men and his mother , at which point one of the men stabbed him in the arm . And while the mother is incredibly proud of what her son did to protect her , she does not want him risking his own safety in the future - even if it is to protect her . 'When someone asks us for something , just try to give it to them . Try to cooperate , ' she said . Authorities are still searching for the three men responsible for the attack . Meanwhile , Assistant Detroit Police Chief Steve Dolunt has called what Deonte did for his mother 'extremely commendable . '
Deonte Turner , 12 , of Michigan , Detroit , stepped in to protect his mother as three masked men yelled profanities at her and demanded her money . The incident happened when Barbara Whithead got out of her car in her driveway after returning home in the early hours of Tuesday . Denote placed himself between the men and his mother , at which point one of the men stabbed him in the arm . The three men ran off immediately after and police are still searching for the attackers . Deonte was taken to the hospital , treated and released a few hours later . Assistant Michigan Police Chief Steve Dolunt has called what Deonte did for his mother 'extremely commendable '