11-year-old girl presses box cutter to boy’s neck and whispers threat, Florida cops say

An 11-year-old girl was arrested at school after cameras recorded her using a box cutter to terrorize another student, according to investigators in southwest Florida.

It happened Thursday, Jan. 11, at Manatee Elementary School in Naples, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office reported in a news release. Naples is about 170 miles south of Tampa.

Deputies were summoned after a student told school administrators he had been threatened between classes, officials said.

“Detectives interviewed both students. The victim said the student approached him from behind in the school cafeteria and poked him in the neck with the knife several times, while whispering a threat,” the sheriff’s office said.

“School security footage reviewed by detectives and the school Youth Relations Deputy corroborated the victim’s account.”

A search revealed the 11-year-old girl had a “box cutter concealed in her waistband,” officials said.

She was taken into custody and charged with “possession of a weapon on school property and aggravated battery.”

Investigators did not report why the two students were at odds, or if the boy suffered injuries.

Manatee Elementary has about 590 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

This story was originally published January 12, 2024 at 6:57 AM with the headline "11-year-old girl presses box cutter to boy’s neck and whispers threat, Florida cops say."