3rd-Graders' Plot To Attack Teacher Foiled

(AP)  A group of third-graders plotted to attack their teacher, bringing a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape and other items for the job and assigning children tasks including covering the windows and cleaning up afterward, police said Tuesday.

The plot involving as many as nine boys and girls at Center Elementary School in south Georgia was a serious threat, Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner said.

School officials alerted police Friday after a pupil tipped off a teacher that a girl had brought a weapon to school. Tanner said the students apparently planned to knock the teacher unconscious with a crystal paperweight, bind her with the handcuffs and tape and then stab her with the knife.

"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."

The children, ages 8 to 10, were apparently mad at the teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair, Tanner 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.

Police seized a steak knife with a broken handle, steel handcuffs, duct tape, electrical and transparent tape, ribbons and the paperweight from the students, Tanner said.

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 all three students faced charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and both girls were being charged with bringing 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.

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

The scheme involved a division of roles, Tanner said. One child's job was to cover windows so no one could see outside, he said. 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.

He said the teacher told detectives the children involved 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 parents of the students have cooperated with investigators, who aren't allowed to question the children without their parents' or guardians' consent, he said. Authorities have withheld the children's names.

Martin told The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville, Fla., that administrators would follow school system policy and state law in disciplining the students.

"From what I understand, they were considered pretty good kids," Martin said. "But we have to take this seriously, whether they were serious or not about carrying this through, and that's what we did."

Four mothers of other third-grade students at Center Elementary called for the immediate expulsion of the suspected plotters.

Stacy Carter and Deana Hiott both cited school system policy stating that any student who brings "anything reasonably considered to be a weapon" is to be expelled for at least the remainder of the school year.

"We don't want our children around them," Carter told the Times-Union. "The one with the knife could have stabbed my child or someone else's child at lunch or out on the playground."

"This is an isolated incident, an aberration. ... We have good kids," Center Principal Angie Coleman told the newspaper.

[newsterl]

And if the teacher did anything wrong the legal system will suppress it, until court. As an adult she''''s knows to cover her butt and not say she did wrong (she maybe doesn''''t realize it), her lawyer will tell her keep her mouth shut.

debbysue63

Are you SERIOUS??? you dont read the news much do you? you dont notice all the people who are for all intents and purposes tried and convicted by the MEDIA before the person even had their FIRST court date!
Soon as there is an arrest or some event happens, the media starts speculating and then quoting sources who all hide behind ''spoke on condition of anonymity...'' then they will STATE that the reporter did not ''immediately'' receive a return call from the persons LAWYER.

[newsterl]

newsterl,these r not "cutesy" PC terms, The "N" word and retarded are negative terms w/not so nice history behind them, especially when used for bad name calling."

Well using the term '' THE N WORD" is not going to disguise it into something else- everyone knows exactly what word that is covering up, it doesnt fool anyone and is stupid- CONTEXT and INTENT is the key with a word like that, any idiot can tell when you are using the word in a demeaning way and when you are using it to say... describe an event in history, quote a 19th century book, poem etc.

"Its OK to speakout when u "BULLCHIT", we''''re adults, we know what your saying. "

Thats right, you do, but last time I checked CBS has the real word bullshi.t CENSORED, just like se.x, ga.y dic.k cheney and a few others.

"I teach my kid there is no sense in cursing because its just adding a negative verb. Why curse it dont nice when you could use other words that make the point."

There are many occasions when a good CURSE word is the only one that really fits, for example, you just crashed your little toe into the metal bedpost while going to the bathroom late at night in a groggy sleep, do you scream and go; "OUCH!!!! OH F....K THAT HURT LIKE A SON OF A...!!!!" or do you say "Oh, dear! that certainly caused me pain, it may be broken"

[debbysue63]

which is why the media uses a phrase like "the N word" which we ALL know and know what they mean, but people are too chicken to SAY the word. Same with "Retarded" "crippled" "blind" "deaf" etc have all become these cutesy PC terms, newsterl
Newsterl,these r not "cutesy" PC terms, The "N" word and retarded are negative terms w/not so nice history behind them, especially when used for bad name calling. Its OK to speakout when u "BULLCHIT", we''re adults, we know what your saying. I teach my kid there is no sense in cursing because its just adding a negative verb. Why curse it don''t nice when you could use other words that make the point. And if the teacher did anything wrong the legal system will suppress it, until court. As an adult she''s knows to cover her butt and not say she did wrong (she maybe doesn''t realize it), her lawyer will tell her keep her mouth shut. I grew up in a bad area in the 70''s, riots, drugs,ect. I saw everyday at shcool. It wasn''t just the students, teachers too. Kids react to stimuli they are given to react to.

[debbysue63]

which is why the media uses a phrase like "the N word" which we ALL know and know what they mean, but people are too chicken to SAY the word. Same with "Retarded" "crippled" "blind" "deaf" etc have all become these cutesy PC terms, newsterl
Newsterl,these r not "cutesy" PC terms, The "N" word and retarded are negative terms w/not so nice history behind them, especially when used for bad name calling. Its OK to speakout when u "BULLCHIT", we''re adults, we know what your saying. I teach my kid there is no sense in cursing because its just adding a negative verb. Why curse it don''t nice when you could use other words that make the point. And if the teacher did anything wrong the legal system will suppress it, until court. As an adult she''s knows to cover her butt and not say she did wrong (she maybe doesn''t realize it), her lawyer will tell her keep her mouth shut. I grew up in a bad area in the 70''s, riots, drugs,ect. I saw everyday at shcool. It wasn''t just the students, teachers too. Kids react to stimuli they are given to react to.

[newsterl]

Newsterl, you need to get a life. You must not have one. You''''ve posted info on serial killers, the bible, bad children, b/genetics, b/seeds. All negative.
Ddebbysue63


I got plenty of a life, I also have plenty of opinions and I freely express them with no PC bullchit or mind games, that''s the problem today- too many people playing too many PC word games which is why the media uses a phrase like "the N word" which we ALL know and know what they mean, but people are too chicken to SAY the word. Same with "Retarded" "crippled" "blind" "deaf" etc have all become these cutesy PC terms.

Maybe you missed it, but the news is 99% NEGATIVE, just happens to be CBS has been posting stories ABOUT the bibull or related, killers, children etc- those are all negative stories- I cant help THAT.

"People should consider the odds that the teacher may have done something wrong."

Well the news story has not said the teacher did ANYTHING wrong, if the teacher had you can BET they would have found and published even a hint of it by now.


" You must be an instigating retired (fired)teacher, a hermit that surrounds yourself with news and thinks news is the only world."

LOL nothing further from the truth on both accounts. I''m a successful artist and run an on-line business that does nicely- despite the economy.

[debbysue63]

Newsterl, you need to get a life. You must not have one. You''ve posted info on serial killers, the bible, bad children, b/genetics, b/seeds. All negative. People should consider the odds that the teacher may have done something wrong. You must be an instigating retired (fired)teacher, a hermit that surrounds yourself with news and thinks news is the only world. There are good things in the world out here. The hard world lived by our ancesters wasn''t that bad. The industrial revolution ruined that, MANufactured, not natural. Some spankings are good, but ruler to the hand causes arthritis later in life, not good. Your user ID newsterl,I hope is NEW STERL, meaning newly sterilized. I don''t want to deal w/negatives like you, my kids world needs better. GET COUNSELING!

[newsterl]

The problem was not that prayer was removed from schools causing all this, it was corporal punishment that was removed- creating psychopathic brats who know they can do anything they like and no one can do anything more than suspend them- giving them a free vacation basically, because they can SUE or have the police come.

The kid breaks up a desk in anger and the teach says/does something, now the PARENTS come to the brat''s defense and sues the school.

[newsterl]

Now, back to the teacher, a VETERAN teacher, can you say Menopause, burn out, Come on 9 to 1 odds, 7 to 8 months into the school year, that teacher pissed some kids off."

So basically you are condemning the teacher w/o knowing a thing about her and making assumptions that she must have done something to ''make'' the kids want to plot to kill her. You make the incorrect assumption that all children are apple pie and tulips little dolls who can do no wrong, are innocent and need to be coddled, you don''t accept the fact that there are just BAD SEEDS born that way- the Jeffrey Dahmer, Adolph Hitler, Charlie Manson types. You figure that it''s normal for a ''hyperactive'' kid with a ''learning disability''- (the new PC term for what was called retarded) to get so angry with their teacher for scolding them for disrupting the class, that they have an EXCUSE to plot (as victims of being scolded) the murder of that terrible teacher who was so MEAN.
Maybe they should have been thwapped upside the head or had their fingers whacked with the pointer on teacher''s desk like they used to do in the old days- it got results and the kids stopped. Now they know teach cant touch them (or the parents) because they can SUE or sic mommy/daddy/police on them for ''assault'' and they act accordingly.

[newsterl]

If you take 1,000 cases of people going into the hospital for major surgery or transplant, a percentage of that 1,000 will die on the table or later of complications, was it the fault of the surgery all 1,000 got or was it the fault of some WEAKNESS in a few individuals who coudldn''t handle the anaesthesia or the stress of the surgery?

[newsterl]

Ask the CDC and the FDA, they know this is true. I know it because they poisoned my daughter, I found out about this when she had a seizure 2 days after her immunization.

debbyesue63

Then your child is GENETICALLY DEFECTIVE, because 99% of the rest of society gets the SAME vaccines and there''s NO problem, the few who have a vaccine reaction are probably allergic to pollen, ragweed, dog hair, wheat and have other problems.

You take 1,000 people at random and you will find a certain number of them WILL have problems, if it''s only 1% then 10 of them will have a problem, but the other 990 DONT, so is it the fault of the medicine being that 990 took it with no problems, or the fault of the TEN?