Turlock girl, 12, threatened schoolmate's life with knife, police say

A 12-year-old girl was booked into juvenile hall after brandishing a knife and threatening to kill a schoolmate at Turlock Junior High on Thursday, police said.

The report was called in by the school about 9:50 a.m., said Sgt. Russ Holeman, Turlock Police Department spokesman.

There was no physical altercation, just a verbal argument between the girl and another student, he said. The knife the girl pulled already had been confiscated by school staff before police arrived, Holeman said.

Turlock Junior High, a seventh- and eighth-grade school, is at 3951 N. Walnut Road.

The child faces charges of possessing a knife on campus, brandishing the knife and making criminal threats, according to the incident summary.

Among dozens of people who commented on a Modesto Bee Facebook post of the incident, one parent wrote, "I have 2 girls that attend this school and knew nothing about this."

A Turlock Unified School District spokeswoman said the district did not issue a robocall or message to students' families. "Because the event occurred prior to the start of the school day and was immediately addressed by site administration with no threat to the TJHS community at large, it was deemed unnecessary to inform stakeholders of a situation that was quickly resolved without incident," district Chief Communication Coordinator Marie Russell told The Bee via email.

"Local law enforcement responded to help support TUSD efforts at holding all involved accountable for their actions according to our disciplinary procedures and CA Ed Code. We are thankful that no student was injured."

This story was originally published October 13, 2017 at 12:40 PM with the headline "Turlock girl, 12, threatened schoolmate's life with knife, police say."