The nation was in shock this week when we learned that two 12-year-old girls were being charged as adults for allegedly stabbing one of their peers 19 times in a wooded area. Police say the girls confessed to wanting to kill their classmate because they were inspired by a fictional horror character named Slender Man. Given the fact that their classmate, whose name has not been released because of her age, was stabbed so many times and hit in her vital organs, it's a miracle she survived the brutal attack.
She has recently been released from a hospital in Wisconsin and what she has to say about the incident will amaze you.
The young girl sustained one stab wound that was so close to the heart, the criminal complaint states she was "one millimeter away from certain death." Her distaught parents are doing the right thing by shielding her from so much media attention and the graphic details of the attack because, honestly, how much can a tween handle? They released the following statement after their daughter returned home:
While we have kept discussions about the events of May 31, 2014 with her short, we did ask how she found the strength to crawl out of the woods. Her response was simple: 'I wanted to live.'
I want to cry thinking about how such a young girl was forced to deal with such brutality. No one should have to know what it feels like to fight for their life -- least of all a young person who did nothing wrong and only trusted girls whom she considered her friends.
She may never understand why this happened to her -- and who could, since it's such a senseless crime -- but I believe this gruesome incident is going to make this victim even stronger.
If you were this girl's parent, what would you tell her about the attack?
Image via Jez/Flickr