Four fifth-graders planned to kill their classmate. What does that say about us? | Opinion
The plan was uncomplicated. The conspirators seemed to know inherently – or did they get the information from us? – that it is best to keep a murder plot simple.
The plan was uncomplicated. The conspirators seemed to know inherently – or did they get the information from us? – that it is best to keep a murder plot simple.
The victim was to be lured to an outside restroom where one of the assailants would stab him to death while the others kept watch.
Simple.
Crime stories are not unusual or unexpected, however. In order for one to grab the attention of the media and the public, there must be a twist.
And there is.
But even for those of us in the business of feeding the public’s hunger for stories involving homicidal intrigue, this one is just … too much.
10- and 11-year-olds don't plot murder, do they?
The suspects in this potentially deadly conspiracy are four fifth-grade students at Legacy Traditional School West Surprise, a public charter school.
Two of them are 10, two are 11, according to Surprise police.
Ten. And eleven.
Word got out, fortunately. The plot was uncovered, and details were revealed: Wear gloves to prevent fingerprints. Fake a suicide note.
No one was injured, and the kids were charged as juveniles, released to their parents and suspended pending expulsion.
The Netflix series 'Adolescence,' here in Arizona
There will be some type of therapy, hopefully, for the children.
There will be some type of reflection, hopefully, by the rest of us.
Kids plotting murder just seems crazy. Unbelievable.
A fiction, like the Netflix series “Adolescence,” that got so much attention lately. The fictional story of a 13-year-old boy who stabs a female classmate to death.
The show got rave reviews.
I couldn’t watch it.
Maybe I should. Maybe we all should.
Our kids reflect us. That makes this murder conspiracy more serious.
We know how negatively the world we live in can impact children. The pressures. The expectations. Social media.
What children have access to today, no previous generation of children saw. What they must deal with, no previous generation of children had to deal with.
Statistics show that violent crimes perpetrated by youngsters have increased.
We’d like to believe that such things could never happen here. Kids will be kids, sure. They’ll get into mischief.
But nothing really, you know, serious. That’s what we tell ourselves.
But fifth graders even contemplating, even imagining, killing one of their classmates is serious.
Liz Ryan, administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, said, “We should never ignore or dismiss delinquent behavior by young people, but we should address it with effective, evidence-based and promising interventions. Accountability is needed, as is compassion, support and access to services.”
We should also remember that we’re a mirror.
Our kids reflect us.
EJ Montini is a columnist at the Arizona Republic, where this column originally appeared. Reach him at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.