10-year-old charged with simple assault at Centerville Elementary

Deputies say no one was hurt, but video showed the child making jabbing motions toward a classmate.

HOUSTON COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A 10-year-old student at Centerville Elementary School is charged with simple assault after deputies say she brought a knife to school and made jabbing motions toward another child.

According to a Houston County Sheriff’s Office incident report, obtained on Friday, it happened just before 12 p.m. on September 4 in the school cafeteria. According to the report, the student pulled a small knife from her pocket and made a “jabbing motion” toward another 5th grader.

The school principal told deputies she found the knife after the incident. The report describes it as a multi-tool with a blade measuring between 1 ¾ and 2 inches long, along with scissors, a corkscrew and other attachments. The length did not meet the legal definition of a weapon on school grounds, according to the report.

However, the school resource officer reviewed video evidence and said the student’s jabbing motion toward the other student placed the other child “in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury.”

The student said in a statement she had pulled out the knife to try to open a snack at lunch, according to the report. The victim said in a statement that the other child had pulled out the knife and said, “I can really actually stab you right now.”

The knife was turned over to investigators, and the case was documented as a simple assault. No injuries were reported.