A 13-year-old Detroit student has been placed on probation after stabbing a classmate inside a classroom at Gompers Elementary‑Middle School, according to prosecutors. The girl pleaded no contest to assault with intent to do great bodily harm in connection with the Oct. 8, 2025 incident, which authorities say unfolded after her mother allegedly handed her a pocketknife on school property. The classmate was stabbed multiple times, hospitalized, and survived.
What prosecutors allege
Prosecutors say 37-year-old Lacara Anita Parks brought a pocketknife into Gompers on the morning of Oct. 8 and passed it to her daughter before class. The juvenile then allegedly used that knife to stab a fellow student, according to a Wayne County press release. Parks was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of a weapon in a weapons‑free school zone, while her daughter initially faced assault and weapons counts.
“This case illustrates that a lot of things went wrong on many levels,” the prosecutor’s office said in the release, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
Court outcome for the juvenile
The juvenile later entered a no-contest plea to assault with intent to do great bodily harm, and a related weapons charge tied to the weapons‑free school zone was dismissed. She was placed on probation rather than detained, officials told CBS Detroit. Because the case was handled in juvenile court, her name does not appear in public filings.
School response and safety measures
In the aftermath of the stabbing, the Detroit Public Schools Community District said it would increase police presence and add more security guards at Gompers while reviewing safety protocols and metal-detector use, Chalkbeat reported. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told families the district would take a closer look at how metal detectors are used across campuses and confirmed that an assistant principal and a security guard were placed on leave during an internal review, per Chalkbeat.
Mother’s plea and court timeline
Local coverage previously reported that Parks pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon in a weapons‑free school zone and that another misdemeanor charge was dismissed. She was initially set for sentencing in January, according to FOX 2 Detroit.
Court records later show that Parks was ultimately placed on probation and ordered to pay fines after a Feb. 2 sentencing hearing, and a review hearing in her case is scheduled for May 4, per CBS Detroit…