12-year-old boy accused of stabbing another child during fight outside of Montgomery County school

KENSINGTON, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Trash talk and a schoolyard fight in Montgomery County led to assault charges for a 12-year-old boy who stabbed another child, according to police.

The incident happened Tuesday afternoon outside of Newport Mill Middle School in Kensington. Apparently two groups of kids agreed to meet up at the soccer field to fight, police said, adding that the 12-year-old pulled out a pocket knife during the altercation and stabbed another boy.

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The victim was taken to a nearby recreation center where staff called 911. He was then taken to the hospital, and police said his injuries are non-life-threatening. Meanwhile, the 12-year-old was charged with first-degree assault and released back to his parents.

“We don’t exactly know what the motive was, if the suspect didn’t realize the seriousness of his actions or if he truly intended to do physical harm to our victim, but a 12-year-old, that’s certainly concerning,” said Montgomery County Police Department Public Information Officer Rick Goodale, who added that there’s no reason to believe the incident was gang-related.

Montgomery County Public Schools officials called it a “serious incident” in an email sent to parents. The email said two MCPS students were involved, one of which attends Newport Middle School. It does not say which school the other student attends.