An Arizona State University student allegedly stabbed her peer twice in a classroom in Glendale on Sept. 19 in a seemingly random attack.
Maricopa County authorities charged Kaci Lenise-Charlie Sloan, 19, with first-degree attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct with a weapon in connection with the attack against student Mara Daffron.
Daffron’s neighbors created a GoFundMe for Daffron, saying she was “stabbed several times, but luckily, she is making great progress and is on the mend.”
“We’d like our community to come together and support the Daffron family during this difficult time. These funds will go towards anything the family may need,” a description for the GoFundMe page titled “Support Mara Daffron’s Recovery Journey” states. “We know Mara will come out stronger than ever from this unimaginable attack.”
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Matthew McCormick, a student who witnessed the attack unfolding in their classroom, took swift action to stop the alleged stabbing, potentially saving Daffron’s life, according to FOX 10 Phoenix.
“In that moment I didn’t really have a thought going through my head I just knew that I felt compelled to do something,” McCormick told the outlet.
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Approximately 13 witnesses present during the attack, including a professor, recounted the incident to police, who wrote in a probable cause affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital that the stabbing occurred “without any provocation or any words spoken.”
Police corroborated McCormick’s account in their report, stating that one of the witnesses “was able to disarm the defendant by pulling the knife away from the defendant’s right hand and threw it [sic] away from them.” Another witness then “kicked the knife to the back of the classroom.”
“Another witness described the defendant [sic] was sitting in the classroom at a desk and suddenly got up and ran at the victim as the victim entered the classroom and stabbed her multiple times,” the affidavit states.
Detectives found a handwritten note inside Sloan’s backpack that apparently referenced an act she was “about to commit,” but it did “not specifically state what she was referring to.”
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Sloan also apparently expressed the desire to “hurt somebody” in class that day in an interview with detectives after the alleged attack and chose to target Daffron because she was “an easier target” than the other person she apparently considered attacking, whom she referred to as “a veteran.”
Authorities quickly arrived on scene and transported Daffron to a nearby hospital, where she received treatment for her wounds.
“ASU Police continue to investigate a Sept. 19 on-campus stabbing of a student. Kaci Sloan was immediately detained and arrested on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; interfering with an educational institution; and disorderly conduct. She is being held on a $250,000 cash only bond,” an ASU spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “ASU and the entire ASU West Valley community are deeply saddened by what happened. ASU West Valley is a close-knit campus of students, faculty and staff. Counseling support is available to all.“
Sloan has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday in Maicopa County.
