TACOMA, Wash. — A Pierce County judge set bail at $250 for 16-year-old Waleed Emad Essakhi, the teen accused of stabbing four students and a security guard at Foss High School in Tacoma in April.
In May, Essakhi, who is charged as an adult, pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree assault, with a sentencing enhancement for use of a deadly weapon.
At that time, bail was set at $750,000.
On Monday, the judge imposed the lower amount and ordered Essakhi held on home electronic monitoring. Under the conditions of release, he is prohibited from contact with Foss High School or any Tacoma Public School. He is also forbidden to use social media or contact any of his alleged victims.
Prosecutors said in May that he is a “threat to the community.”
Court documents shed light on Foss High School mass stabbing
Court documents obtained by KIRO Newsradio and MyNorthwest provide new details on Essakhi and what led to the mass stabbing at the Tacoma high school.
The security guard told authorities he was in the principal’s office when he heard a call for help in the hallway. He and the principal ran out and saw a school staff member and a group of kids fighting. The security guard approached the students and tried to pull them apart as they continued to fight. He reached down to try to grab Essakhi but was allegedly cut by Essakhi’s knife. The security guard then disarmed Essakhi and handed the knife to a staff member.
The security guard said Essakhi apologized to him and was afraid the guard would be mad at him. The guard, who suffered a cut to his left forearm, said he believes he was accidentally stabbed by Essakhi.
One of the victims told authorities he was with his brother in the downstairs section of the school when he got a call from another friend, who said he was about to get in a fight with a kid who was “clutching.”
The victim and his brother went to the hallway and saw that Essakhi was holding an unknown object in his pocket, but didn’t think it was a gun. He also said Essakhi kept getting in their “bubble” and, at one point, got too close to his brother, so they started “bombing” him.
The victim said he felt something wet, looked down, and saw he was bleeding. Court documents stated that he had a significant cut on his left forearm that would require surgery.
Tacoma mass stabbing allegedly stemmed from stolen vape pen
Another victim told authorities that all four of the victims had an issue with Essakhi regarding an incident that had happened the day before at a nearby skate park. The victim’s friend told him that Essakhi had stolen from him and encouraged him to confront Essakhi about it. The victim told authorities he didn’t know what Essakhi stole, but that he and the three other victims confronted Essakhi anyway.
That victim suffered a cut lip, puncture wounds to his left and right chest, a knot on his head, a cut on the back of his left hand and arm, and a stab wound to his abdomen.
Another victim said he and the other three victims were talking to Essakhi when Essakhi tried to get in one of the victims’ faces. Essakhi allegedly told the victim to hit him and then shoved the victim, who pushed him back. Video surveillance showed Essakhi was “egging them on” and was slapping his own face and bouncing back and forth.
Essakhi allegedly punched one of the victims in the face, and then everyone started punching. Essakhi then allegedly started stabbing them.
One victim told authorities that over FaceTime, Essakhi called the victims gang members, but the victim denied being a member of a gang. That victim was stabbed in the back. He also told authorities that he heard Essakhi stole a vape pen from the previously mentioned friend.
Foss high stabbing suspect transferred from previous school over fighting, mother says
Essakhi had transferred from Clover Park High School in Lakewood in January over similar issues. Essakhi’s mother told authorities her son was being jumped and getting into fights, so he transferred for a fresh start. According to court documents, in the Lakewood incident, Essakhi was swinging a belt at other students but was otherwise unarmed.
Essakhi’s mother also told authorities she heard the fight was over a vape pen, but said her son was acting normally that morning and didn’t know of any issues he had at school. She denied that her son was in a gang or affiliated with one. When asked about her son having a knife at school, she said her older son told her that Essakhi had a pocketknife, which matched the description of the knife the security guard removed.
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
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