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Police: Boy, 12, threatened teacher with scissors

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A police report released Wednesday by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office details what happened when investigators said a 12-year-old boy held a teacher hostage with scissors.

Police were called to Normandy Village Elementary School on the Westside about 11:20 a.m. Nov. 5. They said Justin Lamoree was threatening people with scissors.

Police went to room 58 where the incident was taking place. Police said they saw Lamoree pacing back and forth with the scissors in his right hand and radio in his left. Only the teacher and principal were in the room.

An officer instructed the teacher and principal to walk out the door and ordered Lamoree to put the scissors and radio down, according to the report. He didn't comply until another officer entered the room and pointed a Taser at him, according to the report.

Lamoree was taken into custody.

The teacher told police that while in her classroom, Lamoree returned to class after being put in timeout, according to the report. She said he started to get upset and she was trying to calm him down when Lamoree grabbed the scissors and the school's security radio from her table, according to the report.

Lamoree began to threaten everyone by saying, "I am going to cut you up into 1,000 little pieces and feed it to my dog. I will also cut your eyes out and feed them to you," according to the report.

The teacher went into her office and called for assistance. She said she then tried to calm Lamoree down again but was unable to.

The principal arrived to the classroom, and while the teacher was talking to Lamoree, the principal took advantage and removed the other students from the classroom.

"Everybody handled it very well," said News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith, a former school resource officer. "The teacher was calm and talked to him, someone went and got the principal, and she did the right thing (and) slowly removed all the children from classroom, that way they were all safe.

"Saying these things like he's going to cut their eyes out and cut them up and all these type of things is quite disturbing."

The teacher told police Lamoree was holding the scissors in a threatening manner, according to the report. She said Lamoree said, "I am not afraid of the police. Call them," according to the report.

Lamoree was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a school employee, kidnapping and possession of a weapon on school property.


About the Authors
Scott Johnson headshot

Scott is a multi-Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Reporter, who also hosts the “Going Ringside With The Local Station” Podcast. Scott has been a journalist for 25 years, covering stories including six presidential elections, multiple space shuttle launches and dozens of high-profile murder trials.

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