An argument between a husband and wife at a Waipahu shelter ended up with the woman stabbed in the back with a kitchen knife, according to court documents.

David Kasty, 26, was charged Friday for attempted second-degree murder after allegedly stabbing his wife Feb. 10 around 6:30 p.m. at a homeless shelter at the Lighthouse Outreach Center on Leokani Street.

The incident started as an argument over the couple’s children at the Waipahu shelter where they live, according to a police affidavit filed in District Court Tuesday.

Kasty’s wife said her husband was drunk and she told him to leave since she didn’t want to deal with him in that state.

When Kasty’s wife turned to walk away, she said “she felt like a punch to her back.”

The victim told police that she discovered her shirt was wet with blood and she ran for help, the affidavit said.

Shelter officials said the victim had a puncture wound on her back under her left shoulder blade.

Kasty fled, but was found by two shelter workers at the Waipahu Shopping Plaza.

A kitchen knife with a six-inch blade that Kasty dropped was also recovered by shelter workers, the police statement said.