A Detroit mother is facing criminal charges after her 13-year-old daughter allegedly stabbed another student five times at Gompers Elementary-Middle School on October 8.
Prosecutors say 37-year-old Lacara Anita Parks gave her daughter a pocketknife “to use if she needed to defend herself on the way home,” but the weapon was later used in the attack inside the school.
Investigators believe Parks returned to the school after an earlier altercation, bypassed a security checkpoint where a metal detector had gone off, and handed her daughter the knife moments before the stabbing. The victim, an eighth grader, was hospitalized with serious injuries.
During her Zoom arraignment, Parks could be seen shaking her head repeatedly as Prosecutor Aniela Bosca detailed the accusations, appearing to deny the claims being presented against her.
Parks is charged with Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor and Possession of a Weapon in a Weapons-Free School Zone. Each charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and/or fines up to $2,000.
The judge set a $50,000 personal bond and placed Parks on a GPS tether, ordering her to stay away from the school. She is due back in court October 29.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District has since placed an assistant principal and a security staff member on leave while reviewing whether safety protocols were followed.