The principal printed a form for an out-of-school suspension for the student for bringing a pocket knife to the school, according to the report. Zigler showed the form to the officer before going into his office with the student and closing the door.
When Zigler opened the door a short time later, the officer asked if he could speak to them regarding the incident. Once the officer joined Zigler and the student, the student told them that he was playing in the woods the day before and put his pocket knife in his school backpack.
He forgot about the knife until he was on the bus that morning and moved the knife into his pocket because he was afraid of getting into trouble, according to the report.
The student said he pulled out the pocket knife while in homeroom. When asked why he would pull the knife out, he said didn’t know.
He also said that he did not show the knife to anyone or make any threats, the officer wrote.
However, when the officer spoke to the student who reported the incident, the student said he was threatened.
The student said his classmate “looked at him and gestured the knife at him and said, ‘If you tell anyone, I will stab you,’” according to the report. The classmate then reportedly showed him another knife, which was larger and looked like a hunting knife.
The student also said he told Zigler that he was threatened and that he was scared when he realized the other student was still in class, the officer wrote.
After the officer and Zigler spoke to the accused student that morning, they confiscated one black pocket knife. They did not find any other weapons on him or in his locker.
The accused student was taking into custody and transported to West Central Juvenile Detention Center on one count aggravated menacing and and one count of illegal conveyance or possession of deadly weapon in a school safety zone, according to the report. He was also suspended from school for 10 days.
The officer seized multiple pocket knifes and two Airsoft guns from the student’s home.
We have reached out to Bethel Local Schools for a statement and will update this story with any response.
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