12-Year-Old Dies After Stabbing in Lakeside; Suspect is 10 Years Old

Sheriff's homicide detectives today investigated the fatal stabbing of a 12-year-old boy allegedly by a 10-year-old playmate with anger issues.

The stabbing took place in the driveway of the younger boy's home in the 12500 block of Royal Road in the El Cajon area around 1:15 p.m. Monday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Paramedics took the wounded boy to Rady Children's Hospital, where he died around 2:30 p.m., homicide Lt. Larry Nesbit said. The boy's name was withheld, along with the name of his alleged killer.

The 10-year-old was taken into custody but it was not immediately clear whether he was booked into Juvenile Hall.

He allegedly stabbed the older boy with a kitchen knife, then waited as paramedics tended to his friend, U-T San Diego reported. It was not immediately clear what allegedly set off the violence.

The victim lived nearby in Knolls Mobile Estates and attended St. Kieran's Catholic School, while the accused goes to W.D. Hall Elementary, according to the newspaper.

Neighbors told U-T San Diego that both boys were part of a group of about eight neighborhood friends who often played at various home on Royal Road. The younger boy's emotional issues were well-known, neighbors said.

"Even though he threw temper tantrums, we never thought he's do anything like this," neighbor Derek Gorton, 18, told the newspaper.

Gorton's father, Brian Richeson, told U-T San Diego that the younger boy would usually express anger verbally, not physically, and that his mother was proactive in dealing with the problem.

Updated 1/17/12 @ 9 a.m.

-City News Service