The defense attorney for a 17-year-old student charged with fatally stabbing a classmate Thursday morning inside an alternative high school on Chicago's Southwest Side claims his client was bullied and attacked prior to the incident.
Christian Gonzalez, of the 4000 block of South Talman, was ordered held without bond Saturday after he was charged, as an adult, with one count of murder and another of attempted murder in the stabbing death of Chris Wormely, 17, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Gonzalez also allegedly stabbed a 16-year-old boy at AMIkids Infinity Chicago in the 10200 block of South Crandon Avenue.
(Scroll down to watch a report on the stabbing.)
Kent Delgado, Gonzalez's attorney, contends that Gonzalez had been avoiding school prior to the attack because Wormely bullied and teased him, the Chicago Tribune reports. Delgado also claims that, just before the stabbing, Wormely had punched Gonzalez in the head while waiting in line at the school's security checkpoint.
"This is an at-risk kid. He has a learning disability. He's on medication," Delgado said of Gonzalez, CBS Chicago reports. "He's been suffering from hallucinations, and he was being bullied at school."
School officials admit that they believe the stabbing was the result of ongoing conflict between the two students, NBC Chicago reports, though Wormely's family said they were not aware of any problems between them.
Wormely's family said Friday that the news of their teen's death felt "like a bad dream." His sister Carleasa described him as shy and nervous about students who were "gangbang[ing]" at the school.
The Infinity school provides services for kids that have been expelled or suspended from Chicago Public Schools, many of whom have emotional or learning disabilities.
WATCH a report on the Chicago school stabbing death:
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