Frederick teacher who walked class to café, alleged stabbings won't face charges

FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. - The elementary school teacher who took her 27 students off campus and had someone call in a false stabbing report last week will not face criminal charges, according to Frederick State's Attorney Charlie Smith. 

Smith said Monday that the county evaluated the incident for the possibility of criminal charges but based upon the sheriff's investigation, did not believe that there were any criminal acts as a result of the teacher's conduct. 

An investigation continues after authorities say the Green Valley Elementary School teacher made a false report about a mass stabbing at her school, prompting a lockdown last Thursday.

Todd Wivell, spokesman for the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, said the teacher left Green Valley Elementary in Monrovia with 27 students, leading them through the woods for nearly a mile to a nearby strip mall.

The principal of Green Valley Elementary Dr. Giuseppe Di Monte sent a letter to families on Friday saying the teacher was using the "avoid" strategy in their Avoid, Deny, Defend security drill.

Dr. Di Monte says this strategy is one they train staff and students on to use when they believe there is an immediate threat.

Once at the mall, Wivell said the teacher and students went to Buzz Café and asked an employee to call 911 to report the stabbings. The call was made just before 12:30 p.m.

"I can tell you that the students and the teacher when they got to the Buzz Café, they were very upset. There was some crying going on," Wivell said.

He said the teacher also got on the phone with the 911 dispatcher. According to police radio traffic, the teacher provided few details about the alleged stabbings.

Wivell said the teacher was taken into custody but said he couldn’t say if she was still in custody.

"I have to be clear—custody does not mean that person was arrested," Wivell said. "That means they could be transported to Frederick Health Hospital, they could be transported back to the law enforcement center for questioning. From there we’ll work with the Frederick County State’s Attorney to determine if charges are pending."

Wivell said he couldn’t share what the teacher told investigators because it’s part of the investigation still underway. A letter from the school indicates that there is no information suggesting that the teacher intended any harm to the students.

A spokesperson for Frederick County Public Schools did not respond to questions from FOX 5 Thursday evening. It remains unclear what grade the students were in or if the teacher was put on leave.

Green Valley Elementary was initially locked down, which means no one can come in or leave. Hallways are cleared and classrooms are secured. The school was then put on "hold" status and parents were asked not to come to the school to pick up their children.

A father of students at the school who asked not to be identified said he and other parents got wind of this before the school notified anyone. He said there was a frantic period of time when they were all trying to figure out what was happening. 

Wivell said students at the café were bussed back to the school and all students were dismissed at the normal time.

Liz Breuker, a parent whose child attends Green Valley Elementary, told FOX 5 that "not much adds up." 

"Everybody’s asking the same questions," Breuker said. "What happened and why did this teacher traverse six-tenths of a mile away from the school to the hot spot café in town? Why not knock on a door that she bypassed? What’s really going on?"

Here is the full letter sent by the principal to Green Valley Elementary families:

"The purpose of this message is to provide our entire community with an update on the incident that occurred yesterday at our school.
We know that the events that occurred yesterday afternoon raised concerns and generated a number of questions. While we will always share timely and accurate information with our families, please know this is an active investigation involving our police partners and confidential employee information. As a result, we cannot answer every question and speculation about what happened. Thank you for your understanding.

Yesterday, one of our staff members took a class of students off site as she used the "avoid" strategy in our Avoid, Deny, Defend (ADD) security drill. This strategy is one we train staff and students to use when they believe there is an immediate threat to student safety. We are grateful that this was a non-credible threat, but we know that the experience was upsetting for the students involved and our community at large.

In addition to the community message sent yesterday, last night we personally called each of the 27 families whose children were with the teacher who moved them off site. We provided support and information to those families that we hoped could help them process the event with their children. We also held a meeting this morning on site for parents of the impacted students to get additional information and services for their children. We have additional mental health staff at the school today to work with any child or staff member who may need support.
FCPS is continuing to investigate to more fully understand what precipitated the teacher’s actions and to fully understand the sequence of events. This will allow us to determine any additional action steps that should be taken. FCPS does not share specific information regarding personnel issues.

We thank you for continuing to partner with us as we strive to deliver the best educational program for our students."