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Police in Bartow, Florida, said they arrested Tuesday two college girls who had brought a butcher knife and a pizza cutter to the school and informed the detectives that they were planning to stab to death over the years. 39, a dozen students.
"They told us that they were worshipers of Satan," said Bartow Police Chief Joe Hall. press conference Wednesday. "They made it known that they were willing to drink blood and possibly eat flesh."
The two preadolescents, aged 11 and 12, were enrolled in grades 6 and 7, respectively, at Bartow Middle School. The Washington Post does not generally identify minors accused of crimes unless they are tried in adulthood.
Hall said that there had been rumors on Monday that there would be "problems" in college and that one student had informed a teacher that "something bad" was going to happen. As a result, additional officers were present at school on Tuesday.
The girl, aged 11, could not attend her second class. Her mother received a phone call informing her that her daughter was away, Hall said. The girl's mother contacted the school and said that she thought her daughter was on campus, prompting administrators to launch a search on campus.
A senior assistant found the two girls hiding in a bathroom with a cup, Hall said. Suspecting that she might have been drinking, she escorted them both to the principal's office.
When director Christopher Roberts ordered the 11-year-old girl to empty her pockets, she handed over a knife and a sharpener, Hall said. When asked why she had a weapon, the girl said that she and the other student planned to attack as many of the students as possible. The officials then searched the 12-year-old girl and found several other knives and a pizza cutter in her possession. Hall did not specify what was the intended use of the pizza machine.
After being taken into custody, the girls told the detectives that they wanted to kill at least 15 people and that they were waiting for an opportunity in the bathroom. They also said that they had planned to target smaller students that they could easily master, Hall said.
"I do not think it was a joke," said the chief of police. "I think these two little kids [ . . .] Seriously seated and plotted to cause serious bodily injury to another student at school. "
At the home of the 12-year-old girl, the police found a map of the college campus drawn by hand: "Go kill in the bathroom." body parts of classmates at the entrance of the school. "Thank Satan for what we are going to do in a moment," it was said Tuesday in a message broadcast on social media.
The police claim to believe that the students' parents, who did not speak publicly about these allegations, were not aware of their plans. The girls are close friends who live nearby and have spent the weekend together, said Hall.
"I do not think one of them is a leader," he added. "I think they were both together."
Both students are in custody and have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, possession of a weapon on school grounds and disruption of campus. Prosecutors have not yet indicated whether they will be charged as minors or adults. On Wednesday night, neither of the two children had a registered lawyer.
"If you were an adult, you would consider a life in prison potential," said Hall. "In this case, I think the state will step in and try to make the best decisions for the public and the two suspects."
Hall also pointed out that "there could be mental health problems to be solved".
Polk County superintendent Jacqueline Byrd said at Wednesday's press conference that the district was going to demand the expulsion of students and that she was not aware of the fact that the two students had already had problems of discipline.
Byrd did not explain how the students could bring knives to the campus, but acknowledged that the district's security procedures had foiled an attack. "The plan worked," she said.
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