Victims in deadly school stabbing bullied attacker moments before: police
09/28/2017 10:26 am PDT
By Ashley Soley-Cerro, WPIX
WEST FARMS, Bronx -- (WPIX) -- A student who was stabbed to death in his Bronx classroom, and second who was critically injured, bullied their attacker moments before the deadly altercation but did not continuously harass him as previously believed, police said Thursday.
Abel Cedeno, 18, lashed out with a pocketknife during a third-period history class at Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation on Wednesday, according to police.
Matthew McCree, 15, was fatally stabbed, and a 16-year-old was critically injured in the attack, police said.
The two victims threw pencils and papers at Cedeno, apparently prompting him to engage them in an altercation that ended with him stabbing them both in the chest with a 3-inch switchblade, according to NYPD Chief Robert Boyce.
An ongoing argument between the victims and suspect was initially believed to have lasted two weeks, since school first began, Boyce said Wednesday.
This was in fact Cedeno's first known time having a problem with these two individuals, Boyce said at a news briefing Thursday.
“He had problems before, at the start of school, but not with these two individuals,” Boyce said.
Cedeno has not specified to investigators what he was bullied about, Boyce said, refusing to speculate when pushed by reporters.
He is also not believed to have told school officials about the bullying, according to Boyce.
The teen has been charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, manslaughter, two counts of attempted manslaughter, two counts of assault, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
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