Teen will be tried as an adult in fatal Southeast Raleigh High School stabbing
A 15-year-old will be tried as an adult on charges of fatally stabbing a fellow Southeast Raleigh High School student on campus.
On Nov. 27, 15-year-old Delvin Ferrell was killed during a fight in the school gym.
Tyquan General, who was 14 at the time of the stabbing, has been indicted on a charge of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflicting serious injury.
Court records show that Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway ruled last week that General will be tried as an adult in Superior Court instead of in juvenile court. General had appealed Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman’s efforts to try him in Superior Court.
He could face a life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder. In contrast, he could have faced a lesser charge of manslaughter if the case remained in juvenile court.
Family claims self defense
Video posted on social media by multiple students show a fight breaking out in a hallway before 11 a.m. on Nov. 27. In the melee that spilled into the gymnasium, Ferrell and a 16-year-old were both stabbed. The 16-year-old suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
General’s mother has said her son was acting in self-defense and that she warned the school the day of the stabbing that he might be attacked, The News & Observer previously reported.
The school’s principal sent parents a letter saying “all students involved in Monday’s event have been disciplined” in accordance with Wake County school policies.
Staff writer Virginia Bridges contributed to this story.
