3rd-graders plotted teacher attack

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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:05 pm

Dang....

Quote:

Wednesday, Apr 2, 2008

Cops: 3rd-graders plotted teacher attack

By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press Writer

A group of children ages 8 to 10 apparently were mad at their teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair, authorities say. That led the third-graders, as many as nine boys and girls, to plot an attack on the teacher at Center Elementary School in south Georgia.

Police Chief Tony Tanner said the students apparently planned to knock the teacher unconscious with a glass paperweight, bind her with handcuffs and duct tape and then stab her with a broken steak knife.

The scheme involved a division of roles, Tanner said. One child's job was to cover windows so no one could see outside, and another was supposed to clean up after the attack.

"We're not sure at this point in the investigation how many of the students actually knew the intent was to hurt the teacher," Tanner said.

School officials had alerted police Friday after a pupil tipped off a teacher that a girl had taken a weapon to school.

Tanner said the teacher told detectives the children weren't known as troublemakers.

"You can't dismiss it," Tanner said. "But because they are kids, they may have thought this was like a cartoon - we do whatever and then she stands up and she's OK. That's a hard call."

The purported target teaches third-grade students with learning disabilities, including attention deficit disorder, delayed development and hyperactivity, friends and parents said.

Two of the students were arrested on juvenile charges Tuesday and a third arrest was expected. District Attorney Rick Currie said other students told investigators they didn't take the plot seriously or insisted they had decided not to participate.

"Some of the kids said, 'We thought they were just kidding,'" Currie said. "Another child was supposed to bring a toy pistol, and he told a detective he didn't bring it because he thought he would get in trouble."

Currie said the children are too young to be charged as adults, and probably too young to be sentenced to a youth detention center.

"We did not hear anybody say they intended to kill her, but could they have accidentally killed her? Absolutely," Tanner said. "We feel like if they weren't interrupted, there would have been an attempt. Would they have been successful? We don't know."

Currie said he decided to seek juvenile charges against two girls, ages 9 and 10, who brought the knife and paperweight and an 8-year-old boy who brought tape. He said they face charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and both girls are being charged with taking weapons to school.

Nine children have been given discipline up to and including long-term suspension, said Theresa Martin, spokeswoman for the Ware County school system. She would not be more specific but said none of the children had been back to school since the case came to light.

School system policy says any student who brings "anything reasonably considered to be a weapon" is to be expelled for at least the remainder of the school year.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

Very good! I almost fell of my chair! Goes to show that 8 year olds are quite bright nowadays!

On the other hand, if the teacher had been killed, the little bastards wouldn't get charged. That IS wrong.

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:04 pm

Geez, my Mom's going to fall out of HER chair! She does teach children that age. Shocked

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:36 pm

I just wonder when the authorities will figure out which of the parents are missing one (1) pair of handcuffs from their sex toy stash. I'd imagine a 4th arrest would be expected when they connect the dots.

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:27 pm

You cant imagine how much that scares the begebbies out of me.

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:33 pm

Remember back in the late 1970's when wearing camoflague was the in thing. My friend who was a teacher thought everyday there was a minature war going on because all her 3rd grade students were wearing the items.

I don't know who was the mastermind behind the above situation but I think the kids are watching way too much tv. Can you imagine if the one student hadn't squealed on the others? And, can you imagine what's going to happen to the squealer?