'Devastating': Colorado father says race was behind school stabbing attack on Black son
Theodore Temple said his 12-year-old son was in art class earlier this month when the attack happened.
Without warning, another student at the Denver middle school stormed into the classroom wielding a knife, which Temple said he used to stab his son repeatedly. Teddy Temple did what he could to fend off his assailant, but his father said the unprovoked attack sent the boy to the hospital with wounds to his head, neck and shoulders.
But the assault wasn't the end result of a school yard scuffle that had escalated too far. The boys, who had once been friends, "never had a verbal altercation, never had a physical altercation," said Temple, who told USA TODAY in a phone interview that the attacker's motivation was much more sinister.
Temple believes — and the charges against the juvenile suspect seem to support — that his son was attacked because of the color of his skin.
Last week, the 12-year-old boy suspected of carrying out the attack on Oct. 5 at Marie L. Greenwood Early 8 school was charged with attempted murder and a "bias-motivated crime," the Denver District Attorney's office confirmed to USA TODAY on Monday.
District attorney's spokesman Matthew Jablow told USA TODAY that the student attacker was also charged with weapons possession on school grounds and impeding school staff.
The Denver Police Department, which arrested the boy the same day, referred all questions to the district attorney's office on Monday.
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Father says son's attacker embraced Nazi ideology
Temple said he was there Thursday for the suspect's first juvenile court hearing, which the judge closed to the media and the general public.
It was there where Temple had an up-close seat as he said prosecutors outlined all the ways in which the investigation revealed the extent to which the 12-year-old suspect had become fascinated with Nazi paraphernalia and ideology. Prosecutors claimed that among the boy's online research interests included school shootings, hate crimes and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Temple said.
At the hearing, Temple said he learned that the accused attacker had a list of people who he was going to kill, along with their race. The first name on it, Temple said, was his son's.
Jablow declined to specify what led prosecutors to determine that the crime was "bias-motivated" and did not respond to USA TODAY's requests about what happened during court proceedings.
The student has been charged as an aggravated and violent juvenile offender, which are specifications that could increase the penalties if he is convicted, Jablow said.
"It was painful enough that my son was injured in that way, but to learn that he had 100% intention of killing him for racial motivation, that's been the hardest pill for us to swallow," said Temple, who has six children with his wife ranging in ages between 7 and 16. "I am pleased with the extent and severity of the charges; it lets the community know how close we all were to something much more devastating happening."
Victim's father said attacker had hurled racial slurs before
Temple said it had been no secret that the boy accused of attacking his son harbored apparent racist beliefs.
Just a week prior to the attack, Temple claims that the student had been disciplined for calling another Black student a racial slur. His own son was also the target of the boy's racist vitriol, Temple said, some of which was hurled at the boy online and some of which was said right to his face.
The boys had once been friends, but Temple said Teddy distanced himself from the other student during the summer.
"There had a been a history of racial slurs or racial bullying from this child," Temple said.
After the attack, Temple said his son only spent a short time at the hospital before he was able to return home. The family has created a GoFundMe page to raise money for Teddy's medical expenses after he was treated for a head fracture and required stitches.
"He was fearful at first, there was terror in his face when I first got to the hospital," Temple said. Since then, "we're kind of surprised at how well he's doing emotionally and physically."
Denver school district declines to comment
It's unclear whether the student has or will face any disciplinary action within the school district.
Scott Pribble, a spokesman for the Denver Public Schools, told USA TODAY that the district has not issued a statement about the incident. Pribble declined to offer additional details, citing both the ongoing police investigation and federal privacy laws shielding juvenile students.
Teddy was able to return last week for two half-days, but Temple said his son and his other children at the school will soon be transferring to a new school within district. The father lamented that his son had to experience so young the hatred and racism that exists in the world, but Temple said he impressed on all his children one uplifting message.
"We've had conversations about race and how they present themselves, how they're perceived," Temple said. "But I tell them there's way more good people in this community, there's way more good people in the world."
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]