Last week, we reported five students from Flowing Wells High School had been arrested for allegedly plotting to kill a fellow classmate.
Now, a Fundrazr page has popped up to raise money for Christopher Gibson, an 18-year-old suspect. The page appears to be run by Gibson’s sister—the attribution at the top says only Anastasia Mitchell—who describes Gibson as a 4.0 student and a complete gentleman.
From the campaign page:
Christopher has grown up in the same house, in the same neighborhood, with the same friends for almost his whole life. He’s respectful, has manners, and is a complete gentleman. My parents raised him exceptionally well and because of this he always has and always will respect and fight for the ones he loves.
As of today my brother, his two best male friends, a girlfriend and the girl who was being bullied in the first place are in custody. They are being held at a 25,000 bond and my brother is being held on a 100,000 dollar bond. They are being tried as adults for conspiracy to commit first degree murder. While threats are completely unacceptable and unforgiving we also have to think that five of the smartest students at Flowing Wells High School could lose their promising futures for trying to stand up for one another.
The page says the family cannot afford to pay for quality legal counsel. Gibson’s sister ends the Fundrazr with a plea: “Please fight this fight with me as friend, a neighbor, or just as someone who believes in second chances.” As of this posting, the page had raised $170 of a $20,000 goal.
The students were allegedly planning to kill another student with a knife. A student alerted school administration to the plan, and the school turned the case over to Tucson Police Department detectives. One of the suspects had a knife in his or her possession.
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2015.
If these are the Best and Brightest from Flowing Wells …. O M G.
Save your money. They will get good defense counsel.
Attempted murder isn’t smart — so there goes that assertion about “five of the smartest students…”
Yes, teenagers can do really stupid stuff and have very poor judgment. Their brains are not fully formed, especially in the decision-making areas. However, the idea of murdering a person for whatever perceived insult was offered to one of them goes way beyond “poor choices.” Have the trial, evaluate the evidence and testimony, and then if found guilty, discuss “second chances.” Getting a little tired of the constant refrain of “give him another chance.” Won’t be donating to this fund. What part of Thou Shalt Not Kill did they miss in their home training?
I am a Flowing Wells parent and I guarantee that NONE of these five are the smartest kids there. They are all old enough to know the difference between right and wrong so I have no sympathy for them regardless of the fact that they’re teens.
As a Flowing Wells Alumni, I can tell you this. I will not be supporting this campaign. These kids made very poor choices in their life and were old enough to comprehend what they were doing in terms of murder. These teens caused national attention humiliating everyone as a community because they wanted to end a spat with someone.
The saying goes, “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime”
Be happy though. None of these students lost their lives because a student walked up and said something. If nothing was said, these kids would be charged with murder with the 18 year old facing death row. Thanks goes to Flowing Wells for taking these threats seriously and doing something about it.