Experts Doubt Tweens Would Attack Teacher
Psychologists Say Third-Graders Were Unlikely To Follow Through With Plot To Stab Teacher
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Ga. 3rd Graders Elaborate Plot
A foiled plot among nine 3rd graders exposes rare behavior in young children. Experts explain to Harry Smith the serious nature of this unfolding situation.
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This photo was provided by Chief of Police of Waycross, Ga., Tony Tanner, Tuesday, April 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Waycross Police Department)
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Center Elementary School is shown, Wednesday April 2, 2008 in Waycross, Ga. Allegations that third-graders hatched an elaborate plot to knock out, handcuff and stab their teacher were met with shock by neighbors and with doubt by psychiatry experts who said it is unlikely that children that young seriously intended to hurt anyone. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon)
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Police say the plot at Center Elementary School began because the children, ages 8 to 10, were apparently angry after the teacher disciplined one of the students for standing on a chair.
All of the accused children have learning disabilities, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.
Students brought a crystal paperweight, a steak knife with a broken handle, steel handcuffs and other items as part of last week's plot, police said Tuesday. They said nine students were involved, but prosecutors are seeking juvenile charges against only three of them.
That morning before school, another student saw two of the plotters passing the knife and was threatened with it, reports Strassmann. Police are looking into whether still another child was menaced at knifepoint earlier in the week.
Experts said children that age are certainly imaginative and capable of creating elaborate games. But Dr. Louis Kraus, a child psychiatry expert at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said he doubts they would have actually attacked.
"The reality is it is highly unlikely they would have been successful at this," Kraus said. "Even if it had begun, it's unclear whether they actually would have followed through with it."
I guess if it can happen in the big cities, it can happen here.
Euleathia Harris, neighborHowever, one psychologist says the crimes are not age-appropriate at all and a cause for more concern.
"It's the elaborateness that really concerns me," psychologist Dr. Lisa Boesky told CBS News' The Early Show. Boesky added that, "even if they couldn't carry this out, who's to say they wouldn't bring rat poison the next time and put in it the teacher's coffee or bring your father's gun to school."
Police said the plot had been organized enough that some students were assigned specific roles such as covering classroom windows and cleaning up any mess.
Most children under the age of 12 don't generally experience the kind of long-standing anger necessary for a premeditated crime, said Dan Mears, an associate professor at Florida State University's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
"Kids tend to be more spontaneous," Mears said. "If they're angry, they act on it right then."
The district attorney is seeking juvenile charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault against an 8-year-old boy and two girls, ages 9 and 10. The girls are also charged with bringing weapons to school.
News of the alleged plot spread quickly through this small south Georgia city on the northern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp, where residents are preparing for their annual SwampFest celebration this weekend.
"They were so young, I just couldn't believe it," said Euleathia Harris, 50, who lives in a public housing complex near the school. "I wouldn't think anything like that would happen in little ol' Waycross. I guess if it can happen in the big cities, it can happen here."
Police Chief Tony Tanner said the plot unraveled when a student reported to school officials Friday that a classmate had a knife in her backpack.
School officials say they punished all nine students, and some received long-term suspension, but they would not be more specific. Under school system rules, children who bring weapons to school may also face expulsion.
Defense attorney Michael Bryant told The Early Show that it is highly unlikely that the suspected kids will end up in the juvenile system, saying the students are too young.
"They're going to have some intensive counseling along with the parents to find out what was the cause of this," he predicts. "Were they watching too many Scooby-Doo cartoons or is it nor nefarious than that?"
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Difference being an adult, Experts in their own mind only!!!! They have no more idea what these kids are capable of......
The complete moron is you!
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Posted by rchanning12
They are NOT ADULTS. That is the point. They DO NOT think the same way adults think. These aren''t even teenagers, these are children.
Obviously "locking them up" is not going to help. They need to be taught that what they did was wrong, but they are still just children. It is doubtful that they even understand how terrible their act was. That is something that needs to be taught to them. Counseling is required and keeping them in some sort of educational program.
Perhaps more education is needed before you can recognize the benefit that experts can provide; meanwhile, silent ignorance is superior to showing it throug boasting. Shut the hell up you fool!
These are indeed children. Moreover, I would much rather rely on educated professionals in assessing the situation than on your opinion. Your lock ''em up attitude in case we can''t predict the future of what children might do is, unfortunately, harmful in so many ways. Please, don''t be so afraid!
Excellant!!!!!
This is totally stupid, if you have a child that had done anything like this, the last thing you want to do is let them go unsupervised, Get them back in school and teach them properly this time.. (and keep your eyes open)
I agree!! And also,,they most likely will fall behind in their studies,, and in general society as well.
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by cantshutup
April 5, 2008 3:45 AM EDT
- they''re probably harry potter fanatics...
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