13-year-old stabbed teacher with pencil, then smacked her in head, Florida cops say

A disgruntled student used a pencil to stab his teacher at a Florida middle school, then smacked her in the head with a backpack as she called for help, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened Tuesday, Oct. 3, at Golden Gate Middle School in Naples, and the teacher suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including a cut to the back of her head, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Naples is about 130 miles south of Tampa.

Investigators say the 13-year-old suspect faces charges including felony battery.

“The student became disruptive in class when the teacher took a pair of scissors from him,” the sheriff’s office reports.

“The teacher began to hand him a pass to leave class to visit a counselor. When she placed her hands on his desk to give him the note, the student tore the pass and stabbed her hand with a mechanical pencil. The student then struck the teacher in the back of the head with a backpack as she requested assistance in removing him from the classroom.”

Details of what happened next weren’t provided, but the teacher resorted to ushering other students out of the classroom “to a safe space,” officials said.

The boy “was taken into custody” and also charged with disruption of a school function, which is a misdemeanor, officials said. His identity was not released.

Investigators say the dispute started when the teacher tried to stop the student from sharpening his pencil with a pair of scissors during class.

Golden Gate Middle School has about 1,100 students in grades 6 through 8, according to Greatschools.org.

This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 7:45 AM with the headline "13-year-old stabbed teacher with pencil, then smacked her in head, Florida cops say."