Arundel Middle Student Cited After Knife Threats

A student at Arundel Middle School was issued a juvenile citation after police said he threatened two classmates with a knife Tuesday during school hours. 

Anne Arundel County police said that at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, the school resource officer learned that other students had witnessed one boy carrying a knife. 

The officer investigated and learned that a 12-year-old boy had threatened another 12-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl in separate incidents earlier in the day. 

Police later found a 3-inch folding knife inside the boy's locker.

The boy was given a citation for one count of possession of a dangerous weapon on school property and two counts of threatening students. He was released to his parents. 

In an interview with Patch, the mother of the male student who was allegedly threatened conveyed that the other boy pointed the knife at her son's stomach and demanded some money. She said her son did not initially report the incident because he was unsure if the other boy was joking, but eventually did report it at the urging of other students. 

"I reassured him that he did the right thing," said the mother, who declined to give her name in order to protect her son's identity. "I told him that I thought he was a hero for reporting it. He prevented him from doing something else."

The mother said her son was not hurt, but was shaken up by the incident and also faced some teasing Wednesday from other students who were upset that he reported it. 

"He was a mess [Wednesday] when he came home from school because of it," she said. 

In a letter to parents, Arundel Middle School Principal Yolanda Clark commended students for reporting the incident.

"In addition to any charges from police, I assure you that appropriate disciplinary action will be taken with regard to any student who is found to have violated the Code of Student Conduct," she wrote. 

Anne Arundel County Schools spokesman Bob Mosier said discipline will be determined at the end of the investigation into the incident. He said there was no specific timeline for when discipline would be handed down.