Springfield Police announced they took a 15 year old female into custody in connection with the stabbing incident at Lanphier High School this week.
The suspect was transported to the Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center. No other details were released.
The Sangamon County State's Attorney Dan Wright has filed charges that include three counts of first degree murder. While the case will go to juvenile court, Wright said he will petition to transfer the case to adult court.
18 year old Pierre Scott Jr. was pronounced dead at a local hospital Wednesday afternoon. A 16 year was wounded, but is recovering. There has been no information regarding what led to the altercation, which happened as students were leaving school.
District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill said the district had been looking at a security upgrade that would include metal detectors at high schools. Students at all three of the city's public high schools walked out of class Friday as a demonstration in favor of additional security.
Gill said she had been touch with Scott's family and expressed her condolences.
Statement from Sangamon County State's Attorney Dan Wright:
Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright announced today that the juvenile suspect in the November 17, 2021 stabbing incident at Lanphier High School in Springfield has been formally charged with 3 counts of First Degree Murder, 3 counts of Aggravated Battery (Class 3) and 2 counts of Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon (Class 4). Wright’s office filed the charges on November 18th and secured an arrest warrant which was then utilized by the Springfield Police Department to bring the suspect into custody today at approximately 11:00 a.m. with the assistance of the U.S. Marshal’s Great Lakes Regional Task Force.
Under Illinois law, the charges must be initially filed in juvenile court because the suspect is under the age of 16. The State’s Attorney’s Office will file a petition to transfer the charges to adult court under the circumstances of this case. The case would automatically be excluded from juvenile court jurisdiction and filed in adult court if the
suspect was 16 or older. If tried and convicted as an adult, the suspect could face between 22 to 65 years in prison.
The suspect remains in custody at the Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center. Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the Springfield Police Department (217) 788-8311 and/or Sangamon/Menard County Crime Stoppers (217) 788-8427.
The public is reminded that charges are only allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The District released the following statement Friday:
Today, our students at Lanphier led a peaceful moment of silence and celebrated the life of Pierre Scott outside during third hour. They came together to have their voices heard and were supported by our Lanphier staff. We also had security and police presence to ensure everyone’s safety. Students at Southeast and Springfield also gathered peacefully in solidarity.
We will continue our emotional support of students and encourage them to take advantage of these resources provided by our social workers and psychologists on staff. We will continue to allow the space and time for students to express themselves and heal through the channels available to them at school. We are addressing security protocols and infrastructure.
We have requested an analysis of the electrical and structural needs to accommodate retrofitting metal detectors ahead of our master plan timeline, and we are also looking into portable metal detectors that do not require permanent installation for use in the short-term. We are considering and thoroughly researching all options.
We are looking into training needs for our staff as well. The comprehensive reconstruction, including work on permanent secure entrance modifications of Lanphier High School as part of the facilities master plan, is set to begin in the next few months.
