Northeast Middle School student charged with murder in stabbing of 14-year-old boy
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Northeast Middle School stabbing
Kansas City police responded to a stabbing on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, at Northeast Middle School, 4904 Independence Ave. Arriving officers found 14-year-old Manuel J. Guzman with stab wounds in a bathroom. He was taken to a hospital where he died later that day. Another student was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder in Jackson County Juvenile Court.
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A person of interest taken into custody Tuesday after a Northeast Middle School student was stabbed has been charged with murder, Kansas City police announced Wednesday.
The male student is accused of killing Manuel J. Guzman, 14, who was found suffering from stab wounds in the school bathroom and died after being transported to a hospital. The student is being charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon in Jackson County Juvenile Court.
Juvenile court officials can review the case and choose to certify the student as an adult, according to Michael Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. But, he said, he has yet to hear whether the court plans to do so.
Officers were called after 9 a.m. to the school at 4904 Independence Avenue in the South Indian Mound neighborhood on reports of a stabbing. Arriving officers found Guzman inside a bathroom with stab wounds and immediately began rendering first aid along with school security. Emergency medical crews responded and took him to a hospital.
Officer Donna Drake, a police department spokeswoman, said a suspect had been taken into custody.
The school went into lock down and police shut down streets in the area immediately surrounding the school. Students were let out of class early and reunited with their families. Parents there told The Star they received worrisome calls from their children as the students were locked down in classrooms.
Guzman died as a result of his injuries, police announced around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said on Twitter, “Our schools should always be safe environments for our young people to learn ... I am horrified to learn of a stabbing at a Kansas City middle school just after the beginning of the school day.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 1:48 PM.
