Cops: 5 Sixth Graders Plotted To Slit Boy's Throat
Ulster Co. Students Suspended, Charged With Weapons Possession
Tony Aiello Reporting
(CBS) MOUNT MARION, N.Y. Five Ulster County sixth graders were suspended and later charged after apparently plotting to slash the throat of one of their classmates on school grounds during recess.
Ethan Travis, 13, had heard whispers in the hallways of Mount Marion Elementary School about the alleged attack on him, but he didn't want to believe it.
He certainly believes it now as the five classmates were reportedly suspended and charged with weapons possession after an alleged plot was uncovered in which the suspects would ambush the boy, then slit his throat with a razor blade because he had apparently been seeing an ex-girlfriend of one of the would-be attackers.
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Isn't This Just Bizarre
Sixth graders? Why are 12 and 13 year old children plotting to kill a classmate in such a bizarre and macabre manner. Well, they didn't get this one from watching Law and Order.
Nope - they got it from Tupac
about 12 or 13 years ago.
They are 12 or 13 - exactly what kind of relationships
are they willing to kill over?
This mess is insane
My guess is that while the
My guess is that while the students may be in sixth grade, several of the culprits arrested:
a) Are of age to be in about 8th grade
b) Have been previously identified as having emotional and/or behavioral problems
c) Have parents and or school administrators in denial regarding the severity of "b" because that would be ego-threatening or administratively inconvenient
d) Are consistent disciplinary problems
Having had long experience in the bureaucracy of public school systems, reading case histories of student files and dealing with at-risk children, these bizarre situations inevitably have a background that place the violent behavior in a context that demonstrates a pattern of adults dropping the ball rather than taking the extra steps required both to control behavior and remediate the problems. Thus you get an eventual escalation from the children until intervention is forced to take place - like with a murder plot.
"...these bizarre
"...these bizarre situations inevitably have a background that place the violent behavior in a context that demonstrates a pattern of adults dropping the ball rather than taking the extra steps required both to control behavior and remediate the problems."
You're right, Z. Adolescents who plan to slit the throat of a classmate have probably been acting out for awhile and many of the adults who should have intervened before now were in denial. I think, however, that when kids have stepped over that moral line there is very little that can be done to pull them back. I think the ringleaders of this plot are essentialy doomed and they will sooner or later cause their families to come to grief. The parents of children who were only peripherally involved need to think about relocating and getting the entire family into therapy.
"I think, however, that
"I think, however, that when kids have stepped over that moral line there is very little that can be done to pull them back. I think the ringleaders of this plot are essentialy doomed and they will sooner or later cause their families to come to grief. The parents of children who were only peripherally involved need to think about relocating and getting the entire family into therapy."
Total agreement, PT. Though I suspect the relocation will be far more likely than the therapy. Some ppl, though, can be shocked into action by near tragedies, so there may be hope for a few of them.