Washington state fifth graders plotted to kill girl, authorities say

http://www.lfpress.com/2013/02/16/washington-state-fifth-graders-plotted-to-kill-girl-authorities-say





Washington state fifth graders plotted to kill girl, authorities say









Eric M. Johnson, REUTERS



Saturday, February 16, 2013


SEATTLE - Two fifth-grade boys are in
custody in Washington state after they brought a knife and gun to school
with the goal of killing a schoolmate in a foiled murder plot that
shocked their rural town because of their youth, prosecutors said on
Friday.

The boys, accused of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder despite
their tender ages of 10 and 11, also planned to harm other students by
luring them away one at a time, said Tim Rasmussen, a Stevens County
prosecuting attorney.

The boys are due in court next week, where a judge will determine if
they had the mental capacity to carry out the attack and if they can be
prosecuted in juvenile court, which in Washington is typically reserved
for older defendants between ages 12 and 18.

Prosecutors said the boys had boarded a school bus on their way to an
elementary school in Colville, a city of 4,600 residents in the far
northeast part of the state, with the 11-year-old in possession of a
knife and the 10-year-old with a functional Remington Model 1911
semi-automatic handgun.

But a fourth-grade student riding the bus saw the knife and reported
it to a teacher's aide, prosecutors said. School officials found the
weapons before anyone was hurt, and the two boys were arrested. They are
in a juvenile detention facility.

The boys sought to lure the girl away from school, where the older boy planned to stab her, prosecutors said.

"I was going to kill her with the knife and (the younger boy) was
supposed to use the gun to keep anyone from trying to stop me or mess up
our plan," the older boy told police, according to the declaration of
probable cause filed in court.

They intended to kill the girl because "she's rude and always made
fun of me and my friends," the younger boy told investigators, according
to the documents.

Attorneys for the boys declined to comment.

One of the boys had taken the gun, which originally belonged to his
grandfather, from an older brother's room, according to a declaration of
probable cause.

The boys also bribed another student with $80 to dissuade him from revealing what he knew about the plot, Rasmussen said.

In addition to the murder conspiracy, the 10-year-old boy faces
charges of being in possession of a firearm and tampering with a
witness.

The 11-year-old faces charges of murder conspiracy, juvenile firearm possession conspiracy and tampering with a witness.

If they are convicted of all the charges they could be sentenced to over three years in a juvenile treatment facility.

I hope the judge does sentence them to over 3 years in a juvenile treatment facility.

Honestly they seem to get younger and younger,I just dont get it