15-y-old charged for stabbing Linden schoolgirl

A 15-year-old Linden schoolgirl was on Monday charged for stabbing her classmate in January this year. The entire incident was filmed and went viral on Facebook.

The teen appeared before Magistrate Wanda Fortune via Zoom at the Linden Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to the charge, Regional Commander Hugh Winter told the News Room. The teen was placed on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court again on June 15, 2020.

The teen’s 13-year-old sister was also involved in the incident but the Commander said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) recommended no charges be laid against her.

Shashamani Williams, 15, was brutally stabbed on January 23, 2020, during a fight with the sisters outside of the Linden Foundation Secondary School in Amelia’s Ward. She was stabbed to the lower back with a hunting knife and sustained severe injuries to her diaphragm, muscles and tendons, her left lung, spleen and her stomach. She was hospitalized for a month.

In the video, students of the secondary school were seen cheering as the fight occurred; Williams and the 13-year-old fought over what one of them deemed “disrespect” for the other.

The two sisters were subsequently arrested and the 13-year-old was released from Police custody on her own recognizance. The 15-year-old remained in custody for 72 hours.

The DPP had also advised that the sisters undergo counselling.