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Girl, 17, critically stabbed by classmate at Zion-Benton High School
Charges are pending after a high school student accused of stabbing a classmate was taken into custody.
ZION, Ill. - A family is suing a suburban Chicago high school after a classroom stabbing that left a 17-year-old girl seriously wounded.
The complaint was filed Thursday by attorneys on behalf of Karen Tamez and her daughter. It names Zion-Benton Township High School District 126, the student accused of the attack, and that student’s mother as defendants.
It stems from a Jan. 9 incident in which the teen was stabbed during a math class at the school. The victim suffered "severe and permanent" injuries in the attack, including the loss of a kidney, according to the complaint.
Attorneys for the family allege the district engaged in "willful and wanton conduct" by not enforcing required safety measures, including keeping classroom doors locked during instruction.
The lawsuit also claims school officials failed to place the accused student, who allegedly had a history of disciplinary issues, into an alternative program designed for students who may pose a risk.
What they're saying:
"This is an outrageous betrayal of the school’s students and families," Attorney David Bawcum said in a statement. "Parents send their kids to school with the expectation and the assurance that the school administrators and teachers will put the safety and best interests of their students first. To then find out it was an empty promise - that the policies and procedures intended to keep their children safe were not even being implemented – that is a massive abuse of parental trust, one that cannot be ignored."
According to the complaint, those failures allowed the situation to escalate into a violent confrontation that could have been prevented. The family is seeking damages, including compensation for medical expenses.
The accused student, who is a minor, has been charged in juvenile court.
The Source: The information in this article came from a complaint filed by Sean Burke Law, LLC, Soffietti, Johnson, Teegen, Argueta & Bawcum, Ltd. and Zion police.