COLVILLE, Wash. -- It was a young boy
who tipped off teachers to weapons inside
of his classmate’s backpack at Fort Colville
Elementary School.
Justin Sanders says he doesn’t really know
the fifth grade suspect accused of carrying
a knife and gun, but they did ride the bus
together. Justin, a fourth grader, says the
boy tripped while getting off of the bus
Thursday morning. The boy’s backpack
spilled, allowing Justin to see the knife he
carried in the bag.
“When I was on the bus, this one kid was
getting off the bus,” Justin said. “And then
he fell, his backpack opened, and a few
sheets of paper fell out. There was also a
knife.”
The long, green knife scared Justin, so he
told a teacher immediately.
“In class, my teacher was crying and our
art teacher, Mrs. Anderson, was crying,”
he said. “The person I told has been
calling me a hero a lot. It’s like everybody
knows me and I have a lot of friends
now.”
The Stevens Co. prosecutor said in court
Friday the 10- and 11-year-old boys
planned to kill an ex-girlfriend and hurt
seven others. They were expelled for
bringing the knife, as well as a gun and
ammunition to school. Justin says the
offer didn’t matter. He knew blowing the
whistle was the right thing to do.
“It’s kind of scary actually. What if he
tried to kill somebody? And it turns out
he actually did have a list of people he
wanted to kill.”
The suspects, who KREM 2 has chosen not
to name, began planning this attack at
least two weeks ago, investigators say.
They add the gun the boy brought to
school was stolen.
Later this month, the young suspects will
face the judge again to decide if they will
head to juvenile court.


www.krem.com/news/Fourth-grade-hero-calls-alerting-school-to-weapons-to-right-choice-190520041.html