5th Grade Murder Plot Uncovered

In bygone days, radio commentator Paul Harvey, reporting on this kind of story, would have filed it under the “strange” heading on his broadcast. Or perhaps it belongs under the heading "Believe it or not." An alleged fifth-grade murder plot took place in the Legacy Traditional School in, wait for it, Surprise, Arizona. As someone who has taught 5th graders, count me among the unsurprised, the little dears.

Seriously, the problems I once only saw in high school students, I later saw in 5th graders. I even lobbied the local bishop to lower the age of the sacrament of Confirmation for young people. Waiting until high school is too late in this day and age of diminishing childhood innocence.

According to the police report, four students, who probably had been watching way too much "CSI" rather than buckling down and studying their graphic novels, were accused of plotting to fatally stab a fellow fifth-grade student in the school’s bathroom.

According to NBC News, the students thought they could then forge a suicide note to make it appear the stab wound was self-inflicted. And in keeping with the Sam Spade law of diversity and the French principle of cherchez la femme, yes, there was a dame involved. Or perhaps we should say a mademoiselle. Hell hath no... yes, the girl’s purported "boyfriend” had been cheating on her. It is a crime that no 5th grader should have to endure.

The school was given a heads-up on the plot back on Oct. 1, 2024, by a parent whose honorable offspring reported overhearing the conversation. In this case, the snitches didn’t end up in ditches. Two 10-year-olds and two 11-year-olds were arrested for threatening and disorderly conduct.

One girl thought the others were joking until she was asked to stand guard when they planned to go into the bathroom to stab the victim in the stomach. It was then she realized “they were serious,” according to the police.

Police also reported that another student said he stayed in the conversation because he didn't want the tough guys to think he was "weird and not wanting to do it." Yes, how weird not wanting to be part of a murder. Ah, the age of peer pressure. In fairness, the student said there was doubt that the others would actually do it.

It is an old principle of morality that evil thoughts lead to evil deeds, which is why thoughts can be sinful when consented to and dialogued with. That is different than mere temptations. A thousand temptations don't add up to one sin.

According to the police, one of the parents "would smile and laugh and made excuses for the actions." How many times have you seen on a 5:00 news crime story, “My son, he’s a good boy.”

Once upon a time, I was involved with a mentoring program in the Fort Apache section of the South Bronx. The only unforgivable crime you could commit in that neighborhood was defacing a graffiti artist’s rendering of some kid or other who had been murdered. It was sacred art in that world of the community gun, concealed behind a brick somewhere in the neighborhood.

The main thing the kids had to learn back then was that actions and impulses don’t stand alone. They are only a link in a chain. You need to think through the logical consequences. Getting ahead in life means being able to see what happens next. Equally important is learning that there are times you have to let it go. Going up the escalation scale can prove deadly in the end. Someone scuffing those fancy sneakers isn't a capital offense.

Eventually, Fort Apache turned into Little House on the Prairie after everyone either killed each other or left. When the shooting stopped and rebuilding began, we had to move out, too. We could no longer afford the rent.

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