Cops have arrested a 28-year-old Bronx man following a brutal explosion of violence, accusing him of attacking his wife and then viciously stabbing his 12-year-old stepdaughter before hammering a screw through her skull, police and sources said Friday.

Joshua Burnside is also accused of stabbing his 31-year-old wife during the violent clash inside their apartment on E. 173rd St. near West Farms Road in Crotona Park East, just across the street from Starlight Park, officials said.

Two other children, a 5-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, were also inside the apartment but not harmed, police said.

The bloodshed began at about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday when Burnside got into a heated argument with his wife, law enforcement sources said.

During the argument, the wife picked up a knife to defend herself, but Burnside grabbed it out of her hands and stabbed her in the stomach and slashed her face with it.

When the woman ran out of the apartment screaming for help, Burnside turned to his horrified step-daughter, who witnessed the attack on her mom, and began to repeatedly stab her about the body, face and head.

The wife, from outside the apartment, heard her daughter’s screams for help, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case said. After stabbing the girl repeatedly, he grabbed a long screw and hammered it into the side of the pre-teen’s head, cops said.

Police responded and took Burnside into custody without incident. His wife and two young children were taken to Jacobi Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.

The step-daughter was taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center, where she underwent surgery.

Doctor’s initially found deep bruising to the child’s head. They then found the screw puncturing the child’s brain, law enforcement sources said.

The girl remained in critical condition at the hospital Friday.

Cops charged Burnside with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. He was also sent to a local hospital for a psychiatric exam.

His arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court was pending Friday.