ATLANTA — A 10-year-old girl is recovering after she was stabbed during what witnesses called a violent brawl outside a southeast Atlanta apartment complex.

The witness said the little girl was in her mother’s arms when a man, identified as James Kimbrough, lunged at the woman with a knife. He ended up stabbing the 10-year-old instead.

“Blood everywhere,” the witness, who didn’t want to be identified, said. “Baby girl got stabbed real bad. Real bad.”

Atlanta police said when they arrived at the scene, they found the girl suffering from a stab wound to the leg. The witness said that seconds before the stabbing, the man and woman started to fight in the area behind the apartments.

“He tried, I guess to stab the woman, but instead the knife stabbed the girl, the baby girl,” the witness said.

Kimbrough faces a number of charges including reckless conduct and cruelty to children. The woman at the scene was detained. She has not been charged.

The witness, who just leased an apartment at the complex on Monday, said the incident is shocking.

“I mean I understand things happen everywhere, but this is a little different,” she said. “I hope he never gets out, because how could you?”

Police did not reveal what led to the fight.