Girl, 11, accused of making hit list
Faces charges after school plot is found
An 11-year-old Tonawanda Middle School pupil took her grudges to the next level by creating a spreadsheet list with the names of nine other pupils and two teachers she said she wanted to kill, police said.
The sixth-grader has been suspended for 10 weeks and was arrested and charged Wednesday by City of Tonawanda police with “making a terroristic threat.”
The Excel spreadsheet file, called “Killbook. xls,” apparently was created on a school library computer in January and last modified April 7, said Youth Services Detective Tim Toth, who handles all juvenile cases for City of Tonawanda police.
Aside from creating a hit list of names, which included sixth-and seventh-graders, the girl had written a note by one teacher’s name, indicating that she wanted the teacher to be killed “with a very, very, very, very, very sharp knife” and with a gun, Toth said.
She also put a note at the end of her list saying she wanted to hurt the people on her list in many ways, he said.
Police are not releasing the girl’s name because of her age.
“I don’t believe she had the means or even the actual foresight to carry this out,” Toth said. “In my opinion, I think it was a young girl who was just venting at the time.”
A fellow classmate reported the girl to a guidance counselor three weeks ago after sitting next to her at the school library computers after school, leaning back and catching a glimpse of her own name on the hit list, Toth said.
School officials retrieved the file and contacted Toth, who has worked with the school district for nearly 10 years in various capacities.
Toth said the case was so unusual that he had to open up the penal code book at his desk to figure out what the sixth-grader should be charged with. While children this age sometimes make off-the-cuff remarks about wanting to kill other pupils, this girl took the extra step of organizing her thoughts in spreadsheet form, he said.
The 11-year-old was ultimately charged with “making a terroristic threat,” a low-level felony regarding the intent to threaten or intimidate a particular population or group of people, he said.
She is scheduled to appear Monday as a juvenile delinquent in Erie County Family Court.
He added that the girl’s parents are upset and shocked at what their daughter had done and that the girl claims she wasn’t serious about killing anyone.
While Toth said he’s inclined to agree, schools can no longer afford to take such matters lightly in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings tragedy.
The girl is being transferred to an alternative school to serve out her 10-week suspension, which may carry over into next school year, Toth said.
Toth, who has a 13-year-old daughter, said he recognizes that children this age often have a tough time trying to fit in and make friends. It’s up the parents to make sure these youngsters have a proper way to vent about their daily frustrations, he said.
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