Ocala Police DepartmentA nine-year-old boy who allegedly stabbed his five-year-old sister while shouting ‘die, die, die’ is facing attempted first-degree murder charges.
The third grader, from Ocala, Florida, was reportedly playing in his room with his little sister on Monday, January 27, when their mum nipped outside to check the mail and to get some sweets for the children from a neighbour.
When the mum returned, she found her son stabbing his sister repeatedly with a kitchen knife, according to a police report. She then grabbed the knife from her son, picked up her daughter and called 911.
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The stabbing happened on Monday afternoon at an apartment on Northeast 7th Street. When asked by police why he did it, the nine-year-old reportedly told police he had been thinking about killing his sister for two days and that he tried to get it out of his head, but couldn’t.
According to police, as per WESH 2 News, the boy ‘grabbed his sister by the back of her neck’ while she was bent over trying to show him something on the floor. He then allegedly ‘began stabbing her’ while saying ‘die, die, die’.
It’s at this point his mother walked in, and the boy fled to a maintenance shed on the property. In the 911 call, the mum can be heard saying: ‘An emergency, emergency. My daughter, my son stabbed my daughter.’
The girl was airlifted to Shands Hospital in Gainesville with multiple stab wounds, and was alert and responsive at the time. Police said the girl is expected to survive the attack.
CHILD STABBED: @ocalapd say a 5 y/o girl was stabbed multiple times by her 9 y/o brother. He's now facing an attempted first-degree murder charge.
We'll explain how the boy was caught & what he told police at 6 a.m. @news6wkmg https://t.co/UFwWVkYSEZ
— Ezzy Castro (@EzzyCastro) January 28, 2020
The nine-year-old had his first appearance in court Tuesday morning, and he remains in juvenile detention while doctors, lawyers, officials with the Florida Department of Children and Families and his family weigh in on what should happen next.
The judge ordered a psychological evaluation for the boy, who will be back in court next week. His name has not been released to the public because of his young age.
The boy’s next court hearing is February 5.
Our thoughts are with the entire family at this difficult time, and we hope the little girl makes a full recovery.
If you’re experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They’re open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you’re not comfortable talking on the phone.
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).