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The 15-year-old girl accused of stabbing two classmates at Snohomish High School has a history of mental illness and may be tried as an adult, a probation counselor told Judge Michael Downes, who set the girl's bail at $1 million after calling her an "extreme risk" to the Everett community.
The sophomore girl, whom prosecutors say had been planning the attack over the weekend, was arrested Oct. 24 after attacking two teen girls in a gym bathroom, stabbing the Snohomish High School freshmen with one of two knives around 7:25 a.m.
Following the brutal attacks, the Everett-based school, some 35 miles from Seattle, Wash. was placed on temporary lock-down. Staff and parents helped police evacuate the students and identify the suspect, whom a male student confronted after hearing screams and seeing the teen standing over one of her victims.
One of the girls attacked by the high school sophomore on Oct. 24 was critically injured, receiving between 20 and 25 stabbing wounds. After six hours of intensive surgery to her lungs and heart, her status was moved to serious condition. Cheri Russum, a spokeswoman for Providence Regional Medicial Center in Everett, said the girl remained in intensive care.
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The second victim of the attacks received a defensive wound to her arm, a shallow gash that was treated at the hospital on Oct. 24.
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Prosecutors have until Wednesday to file official charges, which will likely be first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. According to court records, the girl, whose name has been withheld due to her status as a juvenile, has had a history of mental health problems, and is currently on medication for an unspecified condition.
Judge Michael Downes, saying the teen posed "an extreme risk" to the Everett community, placed her bail at $1 million after an initial hearing for first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree assault in juvenile court.
During the hearing, the 15-old-year sophomore girl looked briefly at her parents, who were crying, but said nothing in response to the judge's comments. When told that the first victim had suffered life-threatening injuries, the Snohomish High School stabbing suspect was similarly indifferent. "She didn't care one way or the other," police reported.
There will be another hearing soon to determine whether the girl, due to her history of mental health problems and the seriousness of the allegations, will be charged as an adult rather than as a juvenile.
No Motive: "In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time."
Snohomish Police Chief John Turner has heard many theories about the girl's motives in the Snohomish High School stabbing, but says the rumors currently circulating are largely untrue. The injured teens appear to be victims of a random attack, and there is no evidence the two freshman girls had had any prior contact with the suspect.
The 15-year-old sophomore accused of the stabbings told detectives she had been planning to stab "someone" at Snohomish High School since the weekend, arming herself with two large kitchen knives from her father's house before school on Monday.
The girl then went to a stall in the girl's bathroom in an auxiliary gym building, waiting for people to leave.
Spotting a possible target in the girl's bathroom, detectives say the girl made eye contact with her first victim, who was brushing her teeth before class, before launching at her with one of the kitchen knives, stabbing her repeatedly. The victim's friend screamed for help and tried to intervene, suffering a minor cut to the forearm.
