Updated at 9:45am, Friday, April 28th: The 15-year-old student who allegedly stabbed another student at Bradford High School on Tuesday will appear in adult court today (Friday) at 1pm. His initial appearance on Wednesday was in juvenile court.
Kenosha---The stabbing of a student at Bradford High School Tuesday may have been an act of self defense.
Authorities said in court Wednesday that the victim and two of his friends approached the stabber as he was sitting in a study hall, and that the aggressor punched the stabber in the face. The stabber then displayed a knife and stuck it into the victim's heart.
The victim is said to be in "extremely critical condition" with "limited brain activity" in a Milwaukee hospital.
The stabber, a 15 year-old boy with no prior record, appeared in juvenile court Wednesday for a disposition hearing. Court Commissioner David Berman ordered that the boy continue to be held in in secure detention at least until Friday, when another hearing is scheduled.
The victim and defendant reportedly had been feuding over a girl, according to Juvenile Intake Director Mary Beier. All of the parties involved at one time had been good friends, she added.
Threatening social media posts included a video of one of the stabber's friends being beaten up, according to defense attorney Mackenzie Renner, who said her client was afraid that the same thing would happen to him. "I don't see this as a violent young man--more of a scared young man," Renner said in court.
The defendant's mother talked to reporters after court, saying she had no idea that the dispute would end like it did. "I know these little boys," said Shameka Wade. "They've been over to my house. I don't understand how it got to this."
She quoted her son as saying, "I thought it (the dispute) was over and done with."
And it still isn't, according to Wade, who said threats are still flying back and forth between students and family members on social media. "I don't get it," she said. "Why are we back and forth. Let's leave it alone and hope for the best."
Wade said she hasn't spoken to the victim's family. "I'm sorry that it happened but at the same time--hey--ya'll were bullying him," she said.
The police department's investigation into the incident is continuing. A spokesperson for KUSD declined to comment on Wade's assertion that the study hall teacher was locked out of the classroom as the confrontation began.
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