A Hispanic Denver pre-teen has been charged with attempted murder and bias-motivated crime after he allegedly stabbed a Black classmate. The victim’s father said that the young man has a history of calling other students the N-word, even being disciplined just a week before the violent assault.
Ted Temple, the young victim’s father, said he was shocked that this young man would be so filled with rage.
“Where did he get this from at this age, this much hate?” the dad said, according to KDVR.
The stabbing happened on Thursday, Oct. 5.
ALERT: #DPD is investigating a stabbing at the Marie L Greenwood Academy school. A juvenile suspect is in custody and a juvenile victim was transported to the hospital in stable condition. DPD is working with DPS on this ongoing investigation. #Denver pic.twitter.com/V89H7vKtem
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) October 5, 2023
The victim was initially stabbed in his head with the blade penetrating the young boy’s skull. His days said the puncture caused “slight bleeding on the brain … my son could have died that day. And it was intended for him to die that day.”
The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment before being released within hours. He is expected to make a full recovery.
The students are all enrolled in Marie Greenwood Academy, a school within the Denver Public Schools system that accommodates children from early childhood through eighth grade. DPS said because the suspect is 12, student privacy laws restrict them from publicly sharing any information about past or current disciplinary action the school might have levied against him.
Temple is astounded at the litany of offenses the suspect is alleged to have committed while still on campus, including threatening to murder his son, who was first on the hit list.
“He had a list of people and their race that he was going to kill,” Temple said prosecutors revealed in court. “He brought a BB gun and a knife to school. He brought a BB gun, the evidence found, because he couldn’t find a real gun. He couldn’t get his hands on a real gun.”
The school’s Black principal, Blake Hammond, reportedly also was included on the list.
The father attended a virtual juvenile court proceeding on Thursday, Oct. 12. The boy was charged with seven counts, including attempted murder, first-degree assault, weapon on school property, bias-motivated crime, interference with school, violent juvenile offender, and aggravated juvenile offender.
Temple said at court, he met with the boy’s father, who apologized for his son’s behavior.
Watch full video of the victim’s outraged parent speaking out.
During the juvenile court proceedings, Temple said the prosecutors disclosed the boy was troubled. The delinquent student not only brought weapons to school and had the list, but loved Nazi paraphernalia, and conducted online research on school shootings, hate crimes, and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
“He had a lot of, like, swastikas, a lot in his bedroom,” Temple said. “And being that he was, you know, kind of disciplined in school the week before, I was wondering, you know, how much could he have in his bedroom without his parents actually knowing?”
Another thing that the 12-year-old’s parents might not have known is the young boy allegedly was suicidal.
Ironically, the boy who was stabbed used to be the suspect’s friend over the summer and told his father that when they were on better terms “he talked him out of committing suicide.”
