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EDITORIAL: Mother Of Pico Canyon Elementary Stabbing Victim Speaks Out

First

, let me just say we are feeling your love and it means the world to us. Thank you to everyone who has reached out, and to those who wanted to, but wanted to respect our boundaries. We feel your love as well.

I wanted to offer an explanation because the press is already getting it very wrong. There was no altercation when this happened. There was no fight, and no one had to break anything up. Braden was walking in, putting down his backpack when he felt the stabbing and then he lost consciousness. That’s it.

Braden is going to be fine. Physically, the injuries were very minor and the wounds were not very deep at all. He was stabbed with 2 kitchen knives about 14 times in his back and his arm, but there was very little blood and he will likely not even scar. He spent several hours at the hospital in great care, and lots of tests and x-rays taken. Nothing major was punctured.

See Related: Pico Canyon Elementary School Stabbing Sends One Student To The Hospital

Emotionally— well, that is another story. We’ve gone through the full spectrum of emotions since 8:30 this morning and back again— fear, then rage, then sadness, then ridiculous silliness and giddiness (because Lopretes make jokes about EVERYTHING), then exhaustion.

Ironically, when the community was just learning about it, and the frantic texts were rolling in, we were already calming down and on our way to lunch (because Braden will use ANY excuse to get us to buy him sushi.)

This isn’t just about Braden. It’s about everyone. His teachers, the principal, friends who have come by have all been very emotional and we understand completely. This is a community that often feels immune to the world’s big problems, and a little incident like this was a big shocker. We are very lucky…because it was a VERY little incident.

I want to say that again, because as traumatic as this all seems, its nothing compared to what happens in other schools. Pico Canyon Elementary is AMAZING. They protect our children beautifully. This did not happen because they didn’t do their job. This likely happened on the small scale that it was BECAUSE they do their jobs, and they do them very well.

I know that it’s easy to want to blame someone for this. The other student, the other student’s parents, the teachers, the community, even Braden, even us. Stop it.

JUST STOP IT.
NO ONE IS TO BLAME.

Blaming is counter-productive. The child that did this is clearly very troubled. Do NOT assume that someone is to blame for that either. Sometimes children are just born with mental challenges and their poor parents have to struggle silently, lest be shamed by the community.

Do not assume that the teachers ignored the signs. It’s easy to make judgments in retrospect about what we “should have” done, but until you are in it, the signs don’t usually become clear until afterward. Believe me, we are all suddenly connecting dots that were barely visible before and reminding each other not to blame ourselves for not seeing them. There is no way we could have predicted this when we said goodbye to our kids this morning.

We are all getting your love, but we are not the only ones who need it. I do not know anything about the other child, and I do not know his family. They are new in town and I imagine that they are horrified by all of this. Their son was taken into custody— and while I am glad that he is no longer a danger to others, I feel terrible for what this must be doing to them. It’s very possible that they have been dealing with this struggle for many years.

We have no idea what his family might be going through. Please do not shame them and assume things. Everyone needs empathy, compassion and support. Mental issues ARE NOT a mark of shame. No one is immune to them. And parents are not always to blame. Because of the work I’ve done, I know many parents who have struggled with children and very often feel alone and abandoned by the world. If your child does not have mental issues, you are very lucky. If they do, and you have the resources to get support, you are also very lucky.

Everyone has a unique situation. In this case, there could be a million explanations. Please do not jump to conclusions. Again, thank you for your love— please send some to the other boy’s family, to the teachers and the other students as well.

As for the story, there isn’t much of one. Braden is a well-known kid with a big personality. People adore him… and some don’t. Much like some people he is related to (ahem) he’s dealt with the curse of a bright flame—both attracting people and repelling them. If you know Braden, you know he is a great kid who goes out of his way to make people laugh and make friends with the one child who no one else is talking to. Some kids become fixated on his big personality and this other child seems to have done just that.

We aren’t sure why, and we don’t like to speculate but we have some ideas. It seems that the anger towards Braden began after the most recent march for no violence in schools. Please don’t blame THAT, either. No matter where you stand, do not go there. Just take it in, and think about it. Because we are all playing a role here in the division that our children are feeling. We don’t need to blame each other, we just need to keep asking, “How can I be better? How can I be more empathetic? How can I show my own children how to love and forgive?

We know you are upset. We know you are scared. We know as a community you are feeling vulnerable. If you want to direct your emotions somewhere, just look inward. No blame, no shame. Just keep asking how we move forward so that we grow from this. Look for your own anger and see what you can do to replace it with empathy. THAT is what will get us through this. Yes, this was traumatic but for the most part, we all came away pretty unscathed. We have a chance to turn this into something good— that will bring us together. And we need that now more than anything else.

Thank you for your love and support. Thank you for listening.


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EDITORIAL: Mother Of Pico Canyon Elementary Stabbing Victim Speaks Out

78 comments

  1. I don’t know you or your child. I live in Santa clarita, heard your story and read your editorial. God bless you both. You seem to be filled with a lot of love. Beautiful editorial.

  2. What an amazing editorial, exactly what was needed. Thank you for sharing and letting us know

  3. Wow!!! I am moved beyond words, by your words! I grew up in SCV, my daughter went to Pico, it will always be home for me, I am so sorry to hear what your family has gone thru, but your words are truly so humbling especially after having just gone thru such a traumatic experience. Your son is lucky to have such an amazing mama to help him thru this. If only everyone could be more like you maybe we could see an end to some of the school violence! You truly are a blessing!

  4. You have a beautiful mind and heart! Your compassionate editorial brought tears to my eyes. I am deeply moved by how practical and loving you are, what a tremendous Mother you must be! I couldn’t agree more with your editorial. May God bless your son, your family, the perpetrator and his family with healing.

  5. Wow, what a beautiful person you are to be so forgiving and provide so much insightfulness to this situation. I too, feel for the family of the child who stabbed Braden. I hope he is helped by mental health assessments and treatments. Keep on being an advocate for seeking help for these families. We live in troubled times. If we all shared your strong values we could make this a better world. Thank you so much for your beautiful missive.

  6. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love Mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
    Perfect!!!

  7. You are very kind, thoughtful and forgiving and to be applauded. Many have the first words out of their mouth to be I’ll sue you. Instead you are calming us down. God Bless your son and thank you for teaching us what it means to truly be a part of the community.

  8. Hug your children every day. Be thankful for every day you have them.

  9. God Bless you for your calming words to all of us. My thoughts and prayers are with your family and the family of the troubled child.

  10. My child was in the classroom when this incident occurred. I’m grateful you’re approaching this with forgiveness. I’m not interested in placing blame but I am interested in making our schools even better and safer. And with that in mind I think we do need to address what additional resources or help the adults in this situation could put in place so none of our kids experience anything like this again. My child came home on Thursday night and we spent 30 minutes talking about a conflict that had happened during the day between Braden and this child. On Friday morning the incident occurred. This was not random, there were signs and escalating aggression. To ignore all of that and blithely forgive is a sweet sentiment but ultimately does not serve our children best.

  11. At the risk of coming off like the bad guy here, I feel a great need to respond and have no problem whatsoever playing the role of ‘punching bag’ as people will inevitably line up around the block to write back about what a terrible, insensitive person I am, etc, etc, etc….and that’s okay. I’m good with that because I’m also speaking from MY heart and ONLY from what I know is true, period…..
    After reading the eloquently written editorial piece above, authored by the victim’s mother no less, I felt a bit confused at what seemed to be glaring contradictions from paragraph to paragraph in addition to a touch of what felt like someone instructing all of us on how we should individually feel and act and behave following this terrible incident. It’s easy to act as casually as your piece would have us believe you are now that everything turned out as fortunate as it did for all of our kids — oh, I forgot to mention that my son was right next to yours for the duration of the attack, stayed right there screaming his lungs out at the boy to stop what he was doing over and over until he finally did — but had that been a gun brought from his home (which I’ve been told the house has more than one) this would unfortunately be a very different weekend for both of our families, a complete nightmare. There are so many facts left out of this editorial, it almost feels irresponsible to write it the way you did…..again let me say most of what you wrote is very thoughtful, peaceful — even beautiful — but it is a mistake to think, “Well, if this mom who just went through this terrible incident can be this amazingly forgiving and say all these incredible things under the very worst circumstances, who am I to think ANY differently than she??? I better agree with everything she just wrote, or I’m just a terrible human being!”
    It came off preachy and passive-aggressive at times to me, a parent who watched my son’s arms and hands shaking uncontrollably with tears rolling down his cheeks trying his hardest to get the words out of his mouth for probably the tenth time in a span of ten minutes describing the absolute nightmare that happened.
    At times the tone of the piece came off as if it were not a big deal, no altercation or whatever else you wrote attempting to misguide the reader into thinking, “Yeah, not really a big deal in the big picture. All good.”
    It’s not. I love the school, the teachers, administrators, etc, etc. I think it’s the best elementary school I’ve ever seen in my life. All 3 of our kids will have gone through Pico. I’ve never for even a split second even felt or thought or entertained the “blame game” for this on ANYONE employed or involved at that great school. Who is??? It has absolutely NOTHING to do with Pico Canyon Elementary……but are you that naive to think NO ONE is to blame???? Are you kidding me???
    I really, really feel for those parents, and I pray that they are the rare example of two smart, responsible, caring individuals who are shrugging their shoulders with their hands out and palms to the sky completely and utterly baffled asking God why this happened to our son when we did such an amazing job raising him in every way possible…..I really hope, for their sake, that this is the case. But my guess is that a 12-year-old boy needs a little help feeling, believing and acting the way he did/does, don’t you think??
    Do you even know what he was screaming while he was attacking Braden from the moment he was running up behind him, while he was stabbing him and the bone-chilling language he was using after the attack was over???!!!! I’m guessing you do not. And I won’t even get into what this kid was saying to classmates in the weeks before our incident because I don’t want to open the door to any “red-flag” talk and “blame-game” conversations. It’s the kind of stuff that makes the hair on your neck and arms stand straight up, trust me.
    Before any and all knee-jerk reactions that will come flying back in my direction, read this passage again….and maybe even again…..like I did the editorial. I struggled with this because I knew if I wrote what was in my heart and went completely against the grain, I’d probably lose a friend or two. If I’ve made any glaring mistakes — and I do make them from time to time — feel free to point them out, but make sure you have the supporting evidence to do so. If your son or daughter wasn’t directly involved in this, I won’t even engage. These are my opinions and feelings; those were Mrs. Loprete’s.
    Thank you.

    • Retired Special Education Teacher

      Let me say that I can understand a parent wanting to clarify misconceptions from the press. The Media is so willing to only get half the story and often focuses on the wrong thing just to get a headline noticed. As a parent who’s son witnessed this tra

      • Retired Special Education Teacher

        Sorry I clicked and didn’t get my thought completed. Your son unfortunately witnessed this tragedy and it will have a lasting impact on him. He may suffer from post traumatic stress and I highly recommend private counseling from someone who specializes in this field.
        As a Special Education Teacher, I must emphasize that it is likely all staff was aware of the behavior of the student with the knife. His Classroom teacher probably noticed it soon after this new student appeared in her/his class. They probably alerted the much overloaded Sped teacher who went to check his file only to find that it had not arrived from the previous school. The way records are shared from school to school are incredibly antiquated. Important things in a students file take forever to get to the new school. Important things like behavior records, attendance records, grades, IEP’s (Individual Education Plans) for Sped students can often take months to arrive. So you really don’t know what you get when a kid walks through the door. Education Law requires that a student be placed in the “least restricted environment “. So until record catch up, you can’t just put a kid that may be a behavior issue or have a mental illness in a class that may help them or give additional support to that student.
        The idea of blame, doesn’t lay with the initial teachers, administrators etc, because believe me they had concerns, and everyone was aware there may be an issue with this kid. The blame lies in the many restrictions that are placed on the educational system to provide a “ Free Appropriate Public Education “ for every student, and the reluctance of our healthcare system to provide decent mental health care.
        The parents of the kid with the knife, they knew there were issues as well. But nobody knows what kind of violence these kids will enact. Many times in my experience parents will move their kids from school to school because they are in denial that there is a problem and they don’t want to have their child be placed through the assessment process that will lead to an appropriate placement.
        My point is that is is not an easy fix. People have too many rights, thanks to too many lawsuits. There are too many laws that don’t necessarily protect the victims. I appreciate Braden’s Mom who is willing to forgive and not place blame. But I also understand and appreciate Pico Father for sharing his perspective because this incident affected May people. Not just the victim and the perpetrator.

        • This information was exactly what I was wondering about! Yet still many unanswered questions about how a child can be transferred to the school and no important pertinent information about the child’s behavior and past could not follow at least verbally from previous principal to new principal, a heads up if you will. This type of behavior is not unforeseen. Despite any delay in paper records, I find it extremely hard to believe that there was no idea or information of the behavior beforehand verbally. If you have insight on this , please share.
          As you mention, laws require that a student be placed in the least “restrictive environment”, but at what cost????? I think this is where the blame needs to placed. Forgive me for using common sense, but until you get “the file” , knowing that the child had previous issues, would it then not make sense to place the child in a room under more conservative environment, until you know for sure?? Avoiding putting other kids at risk? What about the rights of the other children??? Without knowing the true story it is difficult to know how this happened, but clearly there were signs, and its unfortunate that they were ignored. I think this is a opportunity to really change the ways in which these situations are handled so we have a better outcomes.

    • thanks for writing this. the mother’s editorial sounded so fishy, like she didn’t care that her son was stabbed 14 times. this offers valuable insight

    • Pico Father,
      I have not been responding to many people as there has been a lot – as you can imagine. But I wanted to respond to you. Because I value everything you said. I see you and hear you. I even agree with you. This incident was life changing for all involved. I can’t even begin to explain the roller coaster ride of emotions I’ve had in the last 4 days. This editorial was my initial response. But today I went into the classroom to thank the children for saving my son’s life and promptly lost it. Seeing the space where it happened— it was horrible and indescribable. I’ve had a new emotion every hour and most of them are emotions I’ve never had in my life.
      I don’t pretend to be unaffected. But I know I am not the only one who is suffering. Your child was likely traumatized in a completely different way, from a different perspective. My son didn’t even know what was happening before he collapsed. He didn’t see his blood until the ambulance ride. I kept thinking about the other students and the horrible images that they will never be able to “unsee”. I get it. I really do.
      You are right— there were signs. Lots of them. And as a mother I go over and over those signs and try not to spiral into a pit of shame. It would be easy to completely lose myself in all that we might have done to prevent this. But as a trauma coach told me today- I didn’t do it. This was not my fault. My son didn’t do it. He didn’t do the stabbing. This other kid committed the crime. Hating him doesn’t help me grieve. But you have every right to go through the grieving process in a way that helps you best. I honor and respect that.
      When I called upon others to love and forgive, I was mostly speaking to those who hadn’t been there and were removed enough to create all sorts of hurtful speculation. The first few articles made it sound like the boys were fighting and then one of them pulled a knife. I knew there was an altercation the day before but this happened the next morning. My son was stabbed in the back. He didn’t even see the other child before it happened. (And I am aware of the things he said as he stabbed him. Too awful to repeat). I saw people making all sorts of comments about how this wouldn’t have happened if …
      Parents were better
      Teachers were better
      The boys were better
      The liberals weren’t marching
      Trump wasn’t in office
      Blah blah blah
      Comments from people who had no idea what we were going through. All counter-productive. It perpetuates more hate and division. We can’t grow from that space.
      I am not saying forgiveness is the ONLY thing we do to grow from this. There is much to be done to make sure our children never endure this kind of thing again. Discussions. New laws. New regulations. But we can’t get there from blame. And we get their faster when we ask “how can I personally be better?” Blaming just removes our power to be agents of change.
      I think every moment of every hour how this could have gone very wrong. How it could have been a gun. How my son was targeted. How this other child wished him dead. He was plotting to take my son’s life. I can’t stop the thoughts.
      We process differently and we all need to heal. Let’s get their together. I’m not so strong that I don’t feel pain right now. I’m falling apart, if you want the truth.
      But the way I cope is with empathy. It just helps me move through the healing process faster – and from the response I’ve gotten—- sounds like it helps others too. I’m so sorry about your child. You are not coming off as the bad guy. Not even close. You were in this too. This was terrible for all involved. We need each other to get through this. It’s harder to move past it than anyone could have predicted.
      Thank you for speaking from your heart.

      • Ally,
        First and foremost, ANYTHING written other than my original reply and this reply right now WAS NOT written by me!! I chose the name Pico Father to protect my kids, but I knew you would know exactly who it was coming from. I want that to be very clear. Frankly I’m not sure how it’s even possible to write something using the same name but a different email address.
        That said, I appreciate your level-headed response. Respect……

    • MICHAEL former teen abuse counselor

      I completely agree with you sir, playing down this incident in the manner she did is extremely irresponsible. My children go to school less than 3 miles from this school and even I felt scared when I heard how close it was. This kid will most likely end up in the Wm. S. Hart district with the children of this community. This is not acceptable and I understand your point of view.

  12. God bless you and your family ????

  13. What a beautifully rendered missive. It goes right to the hearts of persons involved in such a situation. Drama helps nothing. How lucky is this man to have you as a mother.

  14. As a retired teacher, I find your response to be so perfect. You are a great parent and person. Thank you for taking the time to write this article so that we can all read it and reflect. I am so happy that your son is doing so well.

  15. I appreciate the grace in your response and your call for bypassing blame. As you noted so eloquently, students and parents of students with mental struggles or mental illness already suffer from dashed dreams and burdens of guilt. Public shame does not cure mental illness.
    Blessings on you and your family as you continue to process this event.

  16. Beautifully writen, thanks for being so strong and loving and empathic.

  17. Our national world is a mess right now. Division, anger, hated is expounded daily and unfortunately our kids pick up on it. It becomes an excuse to lash out at each other.. popular kids, smart kids, kids you look up to and want to be like. DIFFERENT kids. Being a teen in the 1960’s it was also a time of division but nothing like TODAY. Teaching your kid that everyone matters is so important. We all make up our great country and add a positive aspect to it. Don’t spread hate. Spread kindness and caring.Thanks for seeing life through empathic eyes and your life will be better as will your community and family. Thanks for being a caring person and sorry your child had to experience this sad chapter.

  18. Realy ! Are you kidding me. You state that the attacker, his parents and teachers do not share in the responsibility of what happened to your son. If not them, maybe your son should bare the brundt of being attacked. What are you afraid of ? It appears as though you are afraid to speak the truth. If this is truly how you, your husband and now even your son feel about what happened, you and your family should follow up with the school for action. This was no small deal paraphrasing you. IT’S A BIG DEAL. HE COULD HAVE KILLED YOUR SON. I know this possibility has crossed your minds. I would expect you to want to have the attacker separated from the other children, and serious help be administered to adjust the attackers behavior for the protection of the rest of society.

  19. Hi! name is Bruce Millhench and a American Legion Riders out of Post 507, and if there is anything you your family need is support, Please ask as we are here to help our city heal in it time of need.. Sincerely your neighbor.

  20. How beautiful & forgiving! You have such a good heart & soul. Bless you & your lovely family. Also, bless the other family for the trauma they are going through. I cried reading all you wrote. How wonderful to read your story, you inspire all of us to be grateful & forgiving. You have clearly found your joy in life!

  21. I am a fellow Pico parent!! Thank you first for speaking out and letting us know your son is safe. He’s been in my prayers. I would also like to thank you for your kindness at this very difficult time. You are an inspiration. I have spoken with all my kids. I have been saying all the same things to them that you just stated. My hope is that as a proud Pico family we can all adopt your courage and strength and have these conversations with our children. It would be very easy to assume or blame in this situation, but you have chosen a brighter path. Both families involved have my prayers and my full support. Thank you so very much for speaking out, and making this a teachable moment. We truly never know what someone else is dealing with. ????????????❤️

  22. I just returned from a monthly “Grandmothers and Other for Peace”. This beautiful editorial expresses the essentials of attaining a peaceful city, country, and world. A magnificent message for ALL! Thank you!

  23. I am so impressed with your calm and reasonable response (in spite of how you and your family are hurting). Thank you for setting the record straight and calling for unity and community instead of using the situation to cause further hurt, anger or division.

  24. Thank you for making this story a teachable one. Your understanding of the human situation in these times of confusion and hatred is so wonderfully appreciated; so well spoken. Again, thank you. This should be a required reading.

  25. You are an amazing mom and woman and human being. Your heart is huge and you have shared some very important messages to the community. Thank you for reaching out and telling you story and thoughts. Bless you and your son~

  26. WOW!!! This mother is AWESOME!!
    Her level headed viewpoint has put EVERYONE in their right place in this matter.
    She is my hero and I hope more of us take note and follow in her footsteps.
    It’s far too easy to throw stones at others, but if you have a child, you live in s glass house.
    Her words and actions have clearly stated what kind of person she is and who she is teaching her children to be.

    (Love the humor and the bribery for sushi. And super glad to hear this may turn out to be nothing more than one hell of a great family ‘storey’ Someday !!)

    Thank you!!!!

  27. I have never met this woman, but feel HUGE respect for her. Wonderful human being.

  28. Very well said!! I applaud you for your understanding, caring, and refusal to look to find someone or something to blame for this unfortunate situation. With a mother like you, I am sure your son will do well.

  29. As an antibulling advocate, author and talk show host, I’m so impressed with how this mother handlers this situation. This article is spot on target with someone who has the right attitude when faced with such situations.
    Thank you so much for publishing this article.

  30. Bravo!!! What a beautiful way to walk through life. Thank you for your share and your words of wisdom that I hope will open others hearts and eyes to see love instead of fear. I am sending healing love and light to your little guy and to the whole community. God bless everyone ❤️

  31. Thank you for your brave and solid words. As parents we need to be vigilant in monitoring our own anger and negative reactions to situations, especially crisis because our children are watching and emulating our every response. I pray for you and your family and for the boy who did the hurting in this scenario, as well as his parents and family. Physical scars will heal but your boy needs prayers for his mind and spirit most especially. What a wonderful opportunity to learn forgiveness in the most challenging of circumstances. The young boy who did this must feel so lonely and scared. My heart feels incredible empathy for him. I truly hope he can get the support he needs to go on to be an upstanding young man and to learn from this how much love and support he actually has. I feel that society forgets all to quickly that 12 years old is still a baby. Still growing and developing and trying to figure put their place in what sometimes can be such an ugly and confusing world. Thank you for your words and perspective. As a mother I can’t imagine going through something like this and not coming out with endless fury as a result. So you are a bigger person than I and thankfully so with your son watching your every reaction to determine how to navigate his feelings through this.

  32. Your intelligent comments were beautifully written and came from your heart. I especially appreciated the “Don’t Blame Anyone” part since we seem quick to blame someone whether it is justified or not. Your son is fortunate to have you as his mother.

  33. I was so moved by your editorial. Fortunately, your son was not injured badly. The emotional healing is a whole other issue for your family, community and school. How beautifully your words are. Speaking of the unknown when there is a mental capacity issue is what ever one needs to remember. We all have baggage, battle scars, loving memories and a million other emotions and experiences. They are different for each of us.

    For a family dealing with any kind of emotional, behavioral, or mental competency, it is frightening. The medications are tricky when administering to a child, if that is an option at all. Shame is a real factor as well as embarrassment. We need to remind ourselves that it really does take a village to raise children and to be part of a community. Kindness is so simple…..just be nice and appreciate what blessings you have. Mean spirited people expend such unnecessary energy. Keep calm and strong and be the helping hand your family and friends need you to be. Wait and learn what is really going on before judging anyone. Take a moment to be still and think to yourself what would you do if it were your child doing the stabbing. What a horrible thought. I am sure they are mortified and appreciate the support to see them through this issue.

  34. Thank you for your brave and solid words. As parents we need to be vigilant in monitoring our own anger and negative reactions to situations, especially in crisis because our children are watching and emulating our every response. I pray for you and your family and for the boy who did the hurting in this scenario, as well as his parents and family. Physical scars will heal but your boy needs prayers for his mind and spirit most especially. What a wonderful opportunity to learn forgiveness in the most challenging of circumstances. The young boy who did this must feel so lonely and scared. My heart feels incredible empathy for him. I truly hope he can get the support he needs to go on to be an upstanding young man and to learn from this how much love and support he actually has. I feel that society forgets all to quickly that 12 years old is still a baby. Still growing and developing and trying to figure out their place in what sometimes can be such an ugly and confusing world. Thank you for your words and perspective. As a mother I can’t imagine going through something like this and not coming out with endless fury as a result. So you are a bigger person than I and thankfully so with your son watching your every reaction to determine how to navigate his feelings through this. God Bless You.

  35. This is amazing,thank you for sharing this and being so authentic, loving, kind and forgiving in such a situation. The world needs more people like you, thank you for offering everyone an accurate account of what happened and thank you for being such a bright, human spirit as I am sure not only you, your family and Braden did and still are experiencing some difficult emotions but so is the other family involved. Thank you for bringing light to what I am sure is a very difficult situation for all involved.

  36. You aren’t much of a mother if you don’t value your kid more than others. This was a very serious incident and you are just downplaying it as if it was a basic school yard tussle. It wasn’t, your kid was STABBED 14 TIMES !!! Care more! You don’t need to care more for the kid who did the stabbing. He’s a kid destined for a view behind bars and that ain’t anything you can control, cause he isn’t your child.

    I hope you have taken your child out of the school. At least for this school year. He needs counseling and a lot of it. He needs to be able to trust his fellow classmates again and his mother to love him more than the kid who stabbed him.

    • Wow. To attack a mom who is trying to navigate this and love her son in the best way she can – just because you don’t agree with her does not make it ok to attack her as a parent against your own assumptions. Not acceptable and not ok. You can write about how you disagree – but you don’t attack the person.

    • yeah it sounds almost like the mom wanted her kid to get assaulted harder. he was only stabbed 14 times…it’s no one’s fault!
      like geez, thanks mom. sorry that psycho didn’t kill me so you would shed a tear

  37. I am overwhelmed with your thoughtfulness, compassion, common sense, and focus. While I would like to imagine had my child been a target, a victim, I might also be able to balance the roller-coaster of emotions with the emotional intelligence that you clearly have — but, it’s hard to say. I applaud you, I support you and while I do not know Pico families, I will in fact say a few prayers for the other child and their family. Furthermore, I will pray (and act) such that our world be filled with more people like you. Thank you.

  38. You people are nuts. This criminal is probably the same kid who tortures cats to death and enjoys it. Our society has no place for people like this. What if your child is next?

    • exactly! it’s not his fault that he is mental!!!! It’s not his fault that he stabbed my son FOURTEEN TIMES. What is this mom on?

    • Maybe “this criminal” is the one being tortured. I’m not defending his horrible actions or how he handled his issues but….we are quick to forgive the emotionally abused housewife for attacking her husband after she snaps, so why not a child?

  39. Thank you for you message of love, kindness and forgiveness. Prayers for both families.

  40. thank you so much for eloquently reminding me, and all of the Santa Clarita community, that humor and love and thoughtful compassion are appropriate responses to a stressful event.

  41. You are truly amazing????

  42. What a beautiful heart felt share. Thank you for being a stand for love, compassion and kindness.

  43. What an amazing heart you have to express as you have in your editorial ????

  44. Please share this article. With all the silliness being shared out there on social media, let’s share love, peace, grace and forgiveness.
    This is so well written! Thank you for helping me redeem my just a heart just a bit more this morning.

  45. I’m sorry. I have to call BS

    I understand the family involved needs to move on. But “No one is to blame” ?!?!
    Elementary school kids stabbing another… fourteen. times. But no one is to blame? This crap doesn’t happen randomly. To pretend otherwise is illogical and bizarre. It isn’t about shaming, it’s about addressing a major, serious problem and fixing it before it gets worse and someone else becomes a victim.

  46. This editorial is quite possibly the most blasé and passive-aggressive thing that I have ever read. An elementary school student stabbed his classmate FOURTEEN TIMES, and we must NOT BLAME ANYONE, oh heavens no we must protect these special snowflakes.

    NOPE. WRONG!

    The parent of the victim as well as the parents of other children in the class are hinting at a couple of different things. It seems victim Braden has a “big personality.” I wonder exactly what that means? hmmm. regardless, parents of other students in the class had to sit down with their upset children THE DAY BEFORE THE INCIDENT.

    The child who stabbed his classmate IS TO BLAME, and little Braden should be held accountable for his big personality/taunting/whatever if that’s what led to this violence.

    As a resident of the SCV I am ashamed to be your neighbor. Taking your kid out to sushi so that he gets over being stabbed 14 times, dang, let me get some of the drugs you are on Mama, that’s the cuck-iest thing i have ever read in my life

    • I don’t know if I can write that editorial the same day my son got stabbed 14 times, sounds too good to be true! There is always two sides of the story.

      • As someone who knows her, this is coming from a heartfelt place. And in the spirit of her views, we don’t know what happened with either of you to have so much anger. I’m sorry that you do. I’m not sure what you have to gain or the goals of judging so publicly just to make someone feel bad, but in the spirit of her essay – I hope to be more empathetic to whatever you’re going through.

  47. Glad to see some honesty finally being dished out here. There is a lot more to this story than has come out so far.

    This mom is a total fame seeker. The posts on her Facebook page show how she is just lapping up all the attention. It’s her 15 minutes of fame and she is milking it.

    She is our HERO and she wants us to KNOW it.

    From her facebook page:

    “Oh — the irony of seeing people in my community reposting my editorial with comments that I am their hero and they wish they knew me. So many of them don’t realize that they DO already know me. I’m right in front of them. I’ve been here all along.”

    Ugh.

    • Finally. There is Definitely more to this story than we have heard so far. Who takes time to write an “editorial” (her own words) less than 48 hours after their child was “stabbed”.

    • Now that is a hilariously ironic deflection. Seems like YOU are the one needing 15 minutes of fame with your hateful rhetoric. Jealous much? because if you know anything about this amazing icon of a woman you know she already has fame. This isn’t her 15 minutes. She has had a HUGE following for years BECAUSE SHE IS AN AMAZING PERSON AND PEOPLE LOVE HER. They loved her before any of this happened. That’s right— she is a public figure on radio and television and a published author. She speaks nationally spreading her positivity to people. SHE is making the world a better place. What are YOU doing? Bashing her when she is already going through the trauma of what happened to her son?? This makes me LMFAO because she didn’t need this terrible thing to happen to get in the lime light the way you’d like to think. What a sad and pathetic person you must be. You could stand to listen to a few of her uplifting broadcasts.

    • Seriously?! However you feel about this situation. How ever angry you are…Or how much MORE to the story you think there is… you think this mom is seeking her 15 min of fame?! Did she plan this? Maybe wake up and say, “my son got stabbed. Yay, today’s the day I get my shot at an editorial?”! WTH is wrong with people? Let this family deal with their pain in their own way and you do YOU. That’s all we got folks. It sucks, it hurts, people were damaged. Let’s heal & forgive and move forward ???????????? This blame game has much to do with what’s wrong in our community.

      • Crystal… I know this mom very well in real life and “my son got stabbed. Yay, today’s the day I get my shot at an editorial!” is EXACTLY the kind of thing she would think.

        • As you can see, I don’t hide behind cowardly generic nicknames like “Pico Mom”. You claim to know us, but we don’t know you. You are welcome to your sick, twisted theories, but I would urge you to have the courage to admit who you are so we know to avoid you in the future. Not that we owe an explanation to the likes of you, but this was originally an FB post that the owner of KHTS asked permission to post and then slapped on the label “editorial” and a splashy headline to drive traffic. If you do know us, then by all means contact me privately and we can have a discussion like adults. Otherwise, just stop with the cyber bullying. Because that’s what you’re doing. Wrap your addled brain around that. You are cyber bullying the mother of a 12 year old boy who was targeted and attacked and by the grace of God survived. Just. Stop

          • You don’t owe an explanation to me but it would be nice if I got one regarding an incident with Braden that happened 7 years ago. Ally’s big personality and inability to accept responsibility played a big part in why the issue was never addressed appropriately.

        • As you can see from my screen name, I don’t hide behind cowardly generic screen names like “Pico Mom”. You say you know us, but until you come forward either on this post or privately, I will assume you’re lying. I would like to know who you are so we can avoid you in the future so feel free to have the guts to contact me. I truly doubt you will. Please stop cyber bullying my wife. We are going through enough emotional trauma to give our attention to the likes of you.

        • Dear “Pico Mom” You hide behind a non-name. Have some ovaries and tell Ally who you are instead of hiding behind your keyboard. Coward.

  48. This editorial is a criminal defense lawyer’s dream. The most compassionate thing you can do for your son and your community is stay silent and private, press charges against the violent perpetrator to prevent it from happening again. Now you have created admissible evidence with your “no big deal” story. Those praising you for doing this are blind to reality.

  49. Hello, to everyone here who has written comments regarding the above article, I personally found it appalling everyone assumes the boy who committed the stabbing was “special “ had mental defects. It’s a horrible thing that happened and it was unfortunate, however I’d like you to consider the possibility that this boy who committed the horrendous act had been pushed over the edge. I don’t know either boy and I feel very sorry for both parties please don’t get me wrong I’m not pointing fingers I just feel that there’s more here that’s not being said than is the actual true story.

    There are always two sides of a story there’s the attacker’s story then the victims and somewhere in between the two is the actual truth of the matter.

    Having a background in special education for more than 30 yrs I speak from experience. Having a son who is deaf gives me even more experience. Having been on the other end of being bullied 1 as a child growing up then having a child whom was bullied brings me full circle.

    I personally found it unsettling that this parent feels her child is not to blame at all and that the attacking child wasn’t either. Yes the boys were both wrong as are the parents violence is never the answer as I taught my children. Keep in mind BULLYING is a huge issue, it needs to be addressed this wasn’t a random act of violence. The boy snapped, he should have gone to his parents his teachers before it got to this point.

    In his defense I’ll say this possibly he did and after this happened things possibly became worse due to the fact he was considered a snitch an tattle tale someone who cannot deal with it himself a “BABY “ !!!

    Such was the case when my child complained about bullying there was more persecution that happened my kid just did as I as and ignored the bullying until the bully finally hit my kid in the head knocking his hearing aids off which were brand new and very expensive! Still my son didn’t attack this other boy it was his best friend who did and was then suspended as well as expelled!

    When I went to the principal I told them if they were to check I had made numerous complaints to no avail and I wanted to press charges. At which point I find out that the parents shipped there son out of the country to live with relatives inorder to avoid having to take responsibility for his actions!

    Please consider both sides of a story before jumping to any conclusions. I’m not blaming these boys, for anything, boys will be boys not all boys have thick skins! Some are sensitive if your child is coming home upset daily ask questions be proactive!

    On the other hand to those of us who think we have perfect children we don’t bullying is part of our lives it always has been it always will be it’s our responsibility as parents to teach our children to respect others as well as be thoughtful not everyone is the same we all have our challenges. Teach them compassion. Sometimes they don’t even realize what they are doing is hurting the other person.

    Kindness goes along way.

  50. Hi this was my best friend we made YouTube videos together which makes me cry.

  51. A student that was in the room where it happened

    I found this while searching my old school’s name. Took a few turns and here this post is. The real question is, did the adults ever listen to our story? We weren’t allowed in the room that explained to our parents what, why, and how the tragedy happened. But why were we not invited? The teacher wasn’t in the room where it happened. The only spectators were us and out substitute teacher. I find it sad that all you onlookers did was argue with each other. Like children. Like what I am. Children shouldn’t be treated with respect. We shouldn’t have a voice or we will contradict you. Some may disagree. But quite clearly in these comments, we never had a voice to begin with.

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KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 focuses on Santa Clarita news, traffic, weather, sports, and also plays music. Bringing you SCV breaking news first and keeping you up to date with Santa Clarita events.