A knife incident involving a 12-year-old student at Buddy Taylor Middle School broke a nearly seven-week lull in school-safety incidents Wednesday morning. No one was hurt. The student was not arrested, though charges were forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office, and the student is facing school disciplinary measures.
Buddy Taylor’s Tara Millette, one of two deans at the school, reported to the school’s deputy shortly after 8 a.m. that a student may have a knife on campus, based on what she’d just been told by agriscience teacher R.D. Davis. The student, a 12-year-old girl, was immediately removed from class and brought to the dean’s office. Millette searched her and found a black folding pocketknife in her book bag. The student’s mother was contacted and went to the school so her child could be interviewed by school authorities with her present.
The girl told authorities that a boy was sitting in her assigned seat. She asked him to move. He apparently did not do so. She put down her book bag and took out the knife, according to what she told authorities, and said something to the effect of “let me make this easy.” She said it was “a stupid thing to do and she was not thinking at the time,” and that she’d pulled out the knife to make the boy move, not to hurt anyone.
The alleged victim was also interviewed with his mother present. He acknowledged sitting in the girl’s seat, and asking her if he could sit there for that class. He described her taking out the knife but said the blade was never out, and it was never pointed in his direction. He said she held the knife in her hand at her side. She was standing right next to him, and he told authorities that while he was afraid that she had the knife, he did not think she was going to harm him.
The parent of the boy did not wish to pursue charges and asked the school to follow its own disciplinary procedures. A witness to the incident corroborated much of what the girl and the boy told authorities, including the fact that she never pointed the knife at the boy, though the witness said he could tell it was a knife.
The incident report describes the knife as a black folded Smith and Wesson pocket knife, about two and a half inches long. The knife was taken into evidence and charges were forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office for review.
“This is, of course, a violation of our Student Code of Conduct,” a district spokesman said, but referred further details on the incident to the sheriff’s office.
The incident broke what had been a quiet spell in Flagler schools in so far as incidents involving weapons or threats are concerned, following a spate of such incidents in January and February that resulted in students’ arrests because of threats to shoot up a school or weapons possession. In December, a Buddy Taylor student was arrested for bringing a loaded gun to school.
Steve says
Yeah cause thats how one would get their seat allegedly.
Unreal says
Unreal palm coast schools are becoming trash .
Trashy parenting . How many safety incidents already untill the
County govt steps in to truly protect our kids before the real one
Cynthia Habbinga says
Okay, I have to ask, why didn’t she go to the teacher???!!!
deb says
a 12-year-old, this is a problem relating to a lack of parenting,. Time to start making the parents responsible.
Larry Blankenship says
Where is Zero Tolerance. Read this again and replace “knife” with “gun”. Kick her out. Give the classrooms back to the teachers.
Joseph says
Buddy Taylor was already bad when I was going there years ago. Now it’s seemingly getting worse.
Local says
Imagine this girl in high school? Why no charges? Bringing a weapon on school grounds?…. threatening bodily harm with a deadly weapon?
Nice jobs parents….way to raise a daughter. Can we build another middleschool somewhere else so my kids dont have to attend Buddy Taylor?
Let me make this easy? says
WOW!
atilla says
It sounds like she was home schooled before going to school.
Richard says
How did this student’s book bag get past the metal detectors stationed at the entrance?
Upset says
2 words that flagler schools refused…metal detectors
Julie says
I agree she should’ve been arrested for bringing a knife to school. This example only tells others that they can get away with that as well.
Agkistrodon says
Metal Detectors WORK. They worked in DETROIT schools when I lived there. Virtually eliminated weapons brought in. I guess the INCONVENIENCE of having a single entry point is the reason. Safety can be INCONVENIENT. But you yell and scream about guns are the problem. GUNS are not the problem. I have owned guns my entire life of 53 years, and they have NEVER hurt ANYONE. Most dangerous part of a gun is the finger that pulls the trigger, and NO gun control will stop that.
ASF says
Sounds like whatever programs might exist for troubled kids in this town need to be expanded–and there should be a required component of parental supervision and treatment included in them. The option of “home schooling” may seem like a short-term fix but, if the supervision and guidance these kids have been receiving in their homes are already failing them and no attempt is made to change that core situation, it is a solution that is no solution. And in many cases, it might make the overall situation worse.
na/na says
Where was the teacher when the boy would not move? Not to defend her actions but sounds like a little bit of bullying that may need to be addressed as well.
Concerned Citizen says
I’m curious as to why the student wasn’t arrested on a weapons charge. Was it because she was a female and not a male student? I’m pretty sure that if it had been reversed that boy would have been arrested on several charges.
If we are going to improve school safety the rules need to be equally enforced. I mean a 17 year old male student was just arrested for a snapchat threat. For some reason society seems to think that women are not as capable as commiting harm. Having a background in Law Enforcement I have seen my share of female DV perps.
We also need to incorporate metal detectors in our schools. They have long been proven effective. Yes you loose the convienience of easy entry but isn’t that part of the problem? Put a metal detector and an SRO at the door and I bet you stop some of this stuff.
The Flagler County School System continues to have serious safety issues and doesn’t seem to be addressing them. This is unnacceptable.