Manatee Elementary School (Facebook)
An 11-year-old girl in Florida has been arrested after she allegedly brought a box cutter to her elementary school, held it up to another student’s neck, and threatened to kill him. The student was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of aggravated battery and one count of possession of a weapon on school property, authorities announced.
According to a press release from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, deputies on Jan. 11 responded to a 911 call from Manatee Elementary School after a student reported being threatened by one of his classmates.
Law&Crime is not publishing the name of the alleged assailant due to her age.
Upon arriving at the school, which is located in the 1800 block of Manatee Road in Naples, which is about 100 miles west of Miami, sheriff’s detectives interviewed the alleged victim and the alleged assailant in regards to the incident.
The victim allegedly told police that the other student “approached him from behind in the school cafeteria and poked him in the neck with the knife several times while whispering a threat,” the release states.
Detectives were able to obtain security camera footage from inside the school cafeteria, which they said corroborated the victim’s account of what happened. A Youth Relations deputy also allegedly substantiated the alleged victim’s version of events.
Deputies said that the Youth Relations deputy conducted a search of the alleged assailant and recovered a box cutter that she had “concealed in her waistband.”
An arrest report obtained by Sarasota, Florida ABC affiliate WWSB provided some additional details about the incident.
According to the report, when the 11-year-old suspect “poked” the victim in the neck with the box cutter, she also repeatedly whispered, “I will kill you.” Following the initial interaction, the victim reportedly attempted to leave the cafeteria but was followed by the suspect, who stopped the victim, allegedly backing him into a window with the weapon still in her hand.
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