Photo courtesy of KIPP DC College Preparatory/ Twitter.
Fifteen-year-old Kemon Payne was stabbed to death in Washington, D.C., during a melee with another student at the high school, according to ABC7 News. The stabbing happened at the Kipp DC College Preparatory school on Aug. 18 around 3:11 p.m.
Payne, who was in freshman, had just begun attending the school two days earlier. The freshman was stabbed twice in the chest.
Police officers were already on campus during the stabbing for a program called “Safe Passage.” The program provides a safe way home for students.
Officers said that Payne was stabbed outside of the school near the bus stop. Payne’s father was waiting to pick his son up from school that day and saw the crowd gather where his son was fatally stabbed.
KIPP DC College Preparatory announced Payne’s death on Twitter.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Kemon Payne. Kemon was a beloved and charismatic 9th grader. He loved sports, his family, and could command the attention of any room. We are grieving for his family, friends, teachers, and our KIPP DC College Prep community.”
D.C. police officer Detective Konrad Olszak said that a friend of Payne’s bumped into the other student, The Washington Post reported. The student’s lawyer, Varsha Govindaraju, claims that her client is an honor roll student defending himself. Govindaraju alleged that Payne and his friends had bullied her client in the past. Det. Olszak testified that the student told him he brought the knife to school. The student allegedly hid the knife in the bushes before class every day and returned after school for the knife.
The student was not named because he is a minor. He has been charged as a juvenile for second-degree murder.