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May 1, 2007 6:32 pm US/Eastern
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Cheerleader Charged For Bringing Knife To School
by Gigi Barnett
LINTHICUM, Md. (WJZ) ―
Police have pressed charges against a 14-year-old girl after police say she brought a knife to school.
A group of parents in Anne Arundel County became outraged when heard the news.
Several parents at Lindale Middle School in Linthicum said the school put their children in danger by not telling them about the incident immediately.
School officials are not releasing the student's name. Officials say she has been out of school since April 11. She has been charged as a juvenile with weapons possession because she brought a knife to school.
Parents and students also apparently found out about a "hit list" after it was posted on the student's Myspace webpage.
On Monday, school officials said that Myspace page was posted by a student other than the girl who brought the knife to school.
The list mentions the names of several students on a local cheerleading squad.
The Andover Apaches are a community cheerleading squad though seven of the girls on the squad attend Lindale Middle School.
Those seven girls were attached to a "hit list." Some on the squad said they overheard the girl who brought the knife to school, saying she was going to kill some of her fellow cheerleaders. Two eighth-grade boys are also on the list.
That plan was never carried out, though parents were still very upset that they did not hear about the incident from the school.
"Especially with events that have been happening lately, the lockdown, Virginia Tech, it was very serious and frightening," said Tina Layton, parent of a child on the "hit list."
"She could just walk in like it was any other day and no one checks so she could just walk right past and do the exact same thing," said one of the cheerleaders on the list. She added, "Just in cheerleading, she's always an outsider."
Parents are now angry at school officials for not notifying them. The incident happened more than two weeks ago, but Lois Mormon just found out.
"The school did not handle it! For me to find out that this happened from another parent is not right. I should have found out from the school," Mormon said.
School officials sent a letter home Monday to explain the incident. Meanwhile, the Central Office is looking into whether the school handled the incident appropriately.
"There's no metal detectors. We don't have that good of security. You can get by them really easily. It's not really that hard to get into school with a weapon," said a male student from Lindale Middle.
"Kids call each other names and make threats but she actually had a weapon and brought it to school and that's where we draw the line," said Tina Layton, whose daughter was targeted in the threat.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)