CHARLOTTE, Mich. (WLNS) — Parents of two Charlotte Upper Elementary students are concerned for their kids’ safety after a classmate allegedly stabbed two students with an ink pen and bit one of them.
According to parents William Holmes and Tina Curtis, during fourth-grade recess on Feb. 6, a student took a football from a group of students that were playing.
Curtis said her son told her that he had gotten into a fight.
When the group asked for the football back, the fourth-grader threatened to kill his classmates.
Holmes said that after that threat was made, the student allegedly stabbed a student in the neck with an ink pen.
The student with the ink pen then charged Holmes’ son, allegedly stabbing him twice with an ink pen.
When Holmes’ son began to fight back, the student then ran off, biting two other students, and threatening to stab another student in the eye.
“He stabbed one in the neck, from what I gathered, my son in the stomach, another one he attempted to stab in the eye, and bit two children,” continued Curtis.
According to Holmes, no phone calls were made to the parents of students who were hurt in the situation.
“I should’ve heard from my school district before my son that there was an incident involving being threatened,” said Curtis.
Unfortunately, last week’s fight was not the first time that her son came home injured.
In October 2022, while riding the bus home, Curtis’ and Holmes’ son was stomped on more than 10 times, breaking his collarbone.
Brittany MacArthur’s son was also attacked in Monday’s incident by the same student. She said that she learned about the situation by seeing a bite mark on her son’s arm.
“I was very angry,” said MacArthur. “I don’t know how to go about it anymore because they don’t handle anything.”
When the CUE principal was questioned by a parent, Holmes says the principal responded by saying it was the first time he was hearing of the situation.
Holmes called the Charlotte school district “a joke,” citing that the stabbing and biting situation occurred in a “schoolyard.”
6 News reached out to Charlotte Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mandy Stewart, who said the incident had been fully investigated and consequences were given with the student handbook.
“While we cannot disclose any information regarding student records, which would violate FERPA, we take all reports seriously,” said Stewart. “Student safety is a priority at Charlotte Public Schools, and we have various supports in place, including student support specialists in each building, as well as a socio-emotional learning curriculum for our students.”
Tina Curtis said she plans to attend the school board meeting Monday to ask why parents were not informed.
