A 12-year-old juvenile is in custody in Tulsa after police allege she brutally stabbed her 9-year-old brother. Officers arrived at the River Bank Plaza Apartments complex in the 1000 block of 64th Place South around 11:43 p.m. on January 5, according to the Tulsa Police Department via a Facebook post.
When police arrived, they found an injured 9-year-old boy who was suffering from suspected stab wounds. Authorities surmised that the victim and alleged attacker were brother and sister.
The killing reportedly happened while the children's parent slept.
According to police, the 12-year-old stabbed her brother while their parent was sleeping upstairs. After the alleged attack, the girl reportedly woke the parent to admit what she had done.
Paramedics and firefighters were on the scene when police arrived, performing CPR on the young boy. He was taken to a hospital for emergency surgery. Sadly, his wounds proved fatal, and the boy died just after 2:30 a.m., according to the police department's post.
Police are trying to determine a motive.
Authorities are still trying to figure out a motive and it is an active investigation. Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg said investigators have conducted interviews in the case but that when dealing with a juvenile, they are considered "very preliminary," according to Fox 23.
He said that because of the suspect's age, this case "unfortunately has no easy end or easy path. This is going to be a long, convoluted process that is going to be extremely taxing on everyone involved in this."
Neighbors are saddened by the tragedy.
Fox 23 interviewed a mother of three grown children in a neighboring apartment complex about the stabbing. She shared her sadness for the children's mother.
"She's losing two children at one time, her life, or the little girl's life will never be the same, especially the little girl," the neighbor said.
The neighbor said that despite the woman's daughter killing her brother, she is still the child's mother, and she needs to support her.
"Just be strong, I know it's easy for someone that it hasn't happened to, to say that, but just be strong, keep your faith, and just don't give up on your daughter, don't give up on her at all," she said.
Tulsa has already seen two homicides in 2023.
We are mere days into the new year, and this killing marks the second homicide in Tulsa since January 1. Both incidences were among siblings.
The New York Post reported that 39-year-old Clifton Speed was fatally shot and hit several times by his older brother Byron after the two got into an argument. Clifton was badly injured in the attack but survived. Byron, however, succumbed to his injuries. Clifton Speed was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Juvenile crimes are on the rise.
Fox News reported that juvenile crimes are rising because consequences are not harsh or scary enough to deter young people from committing an offense. Joseph Giacalone, an adjunct professor and the former commanding officer of the NYPD's Bronx Cold Case Squad, told the news outlet that kids aren't afraid to commit crimes and adults are failing the younger generation.
"The schools aren't taking care of things, and then the police have to deal with them … and meanwhile they had no [child] rearing at home, no discipline at home and at school, and they want to know why kids are acting out," he said.
The news outlet reported 424,3000 child arrests were made in 2020 in the US, representing 8% of violent crimes. Moreover, 1,780 minors were murdered in 2020, a 30% increase from 2019.
Oklahoma law prevents the public identification of the juvenile offender. Authorities took the girl into custody and booked her at the Family Center for Juvenile Justice.
