A Walton County grand jury has indicted the 12-year-old suspect in the Walton Middle School stabbing on charges including attempted first-degree premeditated murder, the Office of the State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida announced.
- The suspect will be tried as an adult.
The indictment, handed down April 6, also includes two counts of aggravated battery while wearing a mask, possession of a weapon on school property while wearing a mask, and tampering with evidence.
The charges stem from the March 24 attack at Walton Middle School in which the suspect allegedly stabbed two 12-year-old students and a school employee at random, resulting in serious injuries.
Investigators with the Walton County Sheriff’s Office determined the suspect armed himself with a knife before leaving home that morning and brought a mask with the intent to carry out an attack at the school, according to the sheriff’s office.
The suspect entered a restroom upon arriving at the school, put on the mask and went into a hallway armed with the knife, where he attacked individuals at random, the sheriff’s office said. The incident was captured on the school’s surveillance system.
- Witnesses inside the school provided real-time information to 911 dispatchers that assisted responding law enforcement.
After fleeing the school, the suspect reportedly threw the knife into a retention pond. The Walton County Sheriff’s Office later recovered the weapon as part of the investigation.
The suspect was apprehended shortly after by the DeFuniak Springs Police Department and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant State Attorney Angela Liles is prosecuting the case on behalf of State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden.
