A civil servant, who is the son of a deputy political commissar of the Jingjiang Public Security Bureau in Jiangsu Province, has been detained by local police after attacking his neighbor with a knife, local police officials said Monday.

Security footage captured Friday night in the Hongxing apartment community in Jingjiang and since released online, showed a knife-wielding suspect, whom police identified as Lu Jianbo, 31. He is shown knocking down a long-haired woman and attempting to stab her. He then proceeded to kick her as she lay on the ground. The woman, identified as Zang Hongmei, was able to escape the attacker and fled into a nearby building with the help of onlookers.

According to an initial investigation, Lu's mother, surnamed Miao, became involved in an altercation with her neighbor, Zang, following a quarrel between the two around 7:30 pm inside the grounds of their apartment compound.

During the scuffle, Miao was allegedly hit on the head by a brick thrown by Zang. When Lu arrived home and saw his mother's injuries, he grabbed a knife and attacked Zang, said police.

Zang suffered tendon and nerve damage in her left thumb during the attack and was taken to a nearby hospital for surgery.

Lu repeatedly shouted, "My family runs the public security bureau" during the attack, several eyewitnesses to the attack told the Beijing News.

Zang's husband explained to local media that the neighbors Miao and Zang have had a long-standing dispute. "Lu's family has taken over public green space and has been erecting illegal structures for a long time and many residents have called the mayor's hotline to complain."

Lu is employed by the government of Dong xing township, and his father, Lu Shengmin, is in charge of office management, finance and infrastructure work at the local public security bureau.

In recent years, the general public has been outraged by several highly-publicized cases of illegal acts committed by the children of officials.

"Though cases involving children of officials often stir public fury, if they commit a crime and are willing to pay medical compensation to their victims, they should be sentenced fairly," Gao Ming, a lawyer from the Shanghai Wanfang Law Firm, told the Global Times.

According to China's Criminal Law, Lu could face intentional injury charges and a potential sentence ranging from six months to 10 years, Gao added.