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OAN StaffΒ Brooke Mallory
4:45 PM β Thursday, October 10, 2024
Kaci Sloan, an Arizona State University student, entered a not-guilty plea in Maricopa County on Wednesday after two of her four counts were dropped last week.
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Sloan is accused of stabbing a fellow student, Mara Daffron, 19, in class at Arizona State University last month in what authorities claim was a βrandomβ attack.Β
Daffron was described by other students as being βbubblyβ and kind. βThe bubbly student needed emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen and injuries to her chest and arm,β Daily Mail reported.
In relation to the attack, Maricopa County officials first charged 19-year-old Sloan with four counts, including first-degree attempted murder. However, according to court documents, Sloan is now only charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct following her preliminary hearing on September 30th.
Sloanβs LinkedIn profile states that Arizona State University gave her a $5,000 New American University Deanβs Award scholarship.
Sloan was also given a $250,000 cash bond by Judge Ashley Rahaman, along with a list of requirements for her release in the event that she is able to post bail in full.
Sloan had walked up to her classmate, Daffron, on September 19th and suddenly stabbed her βmultiple times,β according to an affidavit obtained by the press.
According to Phoenixβs FOX 10 outlet, Matthew McCormick, a student and witness who saw the attack take place in the classroom, acted quickly to put an end to the stabbing, essentially saving Daffronβs life after he forcefully grabbed the assailantβs knife and threw it.Β
βIn that moment, I didnβt really have a thought going through my head, I just knew that I felt compelled to do something,β McCormick told reporters.
Their college professor was among the roughly 13 witnesses who described the attack to the authorities. The stabbing reportedly happened βwithout any provocation or any words spoken,β according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the press.
One of the witnesses βwas able to disarm the defendant by pulling the knife away from the defendantβs right hand and threw it away from them,β according to the police report, which supported McCormickβs testimony. He then, βkicked the knife to the back of the classroom,β said another witness in the class.
βAnother witness described the defendant was sitting in the classroom at a desk and suddenly got up and ran at the victim as the victim entered the classroom and stabbed her multiple times,β the affidavit added.
However, little did they know at the time, Sloan was βabout to commitβ a violent act no matter what, according to a handwritten letter that investigators discovered inside her backpack. Nevertheless, it βdid not specifically state what she was referring to.β
In an interview with detectives after the incident, Sloan also admitted that she wanted to βhurt somebodyβ in class that day. She reportedly decided to target Daffron because she was βan easier targetβ than the other individual she was targeting before her, whom she referred to as βa veteran.β
βSheβs way too afraid to go back (to ASU). Her professors are working with her to do online lectures and I hope she will be able to go back next year,β said Daffronβs mother, Launi.
As soon as the police came, they took the victim, Daffron, to a neighboring hospital so that she could get medical attention immediately.
βASU Police continue to investigate a Sept. 19 on-campus stabbing of a student. Kaci Sloan was immediately detained and arrested on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; interfering with an educational institution; and disorderly conduct. She is being held on a $250,000 cash-only bond,β an ASU spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. βASU and the entire ASU West Valley community are deeply saddened by what happened. ASU West Valley is a close-knit campus of students, faculty, and staff. Counseling support is available to all.β
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