Son, 30, 'murdered his mother and stabbed his father as they tried to console him over his break up'

A 30-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his mother and stabbing his father when they tried to console him as he reeled from breaking up with his girlfriend.

Yihong Peng was arrested on Saturday night after attacking his mother Weiping Shen and father Goujun, both 59, at his home in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Neighbors called police after seeing Peng in the street with a knife in his hand. When police arrived, they found his mother dead inside the home and his father seriously wounded.

One neighbor said the couple had gone round to their son's home to comfort him after he broke up with his long-term girlfriend.

She said he was going through a difficult time and was struggling to cope with the break-up.

'Yesterday his parents came to console him he was going through a difficult time,' Susan Larsen told NBC Los Angeles.

She said he and his girlfriend had been living together until recently.

When police arrived at the scene, Peng was standing in the street with a bloody knife in his hand.

He tried to run away on foot but was caught not long afterwards and was taken into custody.

Peng has been charged with one count of murder. His father remains in hospital but is expected to survive.