Mom who gave daughter knife in Detroit elementary school stabbing, pleads guilty
Lacara Parks from her arraignment hearing.
FOX 2 - The mother who gave her teen daughter a knife she used to stab another girl at a Detroit school last month, has pleaded guilty.
The backstory:
Lacara Anita Parks pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon in a weapons-free school zone and had a second charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor dismissed.
Parks is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2026 in connection to the stabbing where her 13-year-old daughter was arrested for stabbing another girl the same age with the pocketknife on school grounds outside Gompers Elementary.
According to the prosecutors' office, Parks gave her teenager the pocketknife to defend herself on the way home from school.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said Parks gave her daughter the pocketknife on October 8 on school grounds before school started. That morning, around 8:40, police said her 13-year-old daughter stabbed another 13-year-old with the knife.
The victim was hospitalized afterward in stable condition.
Related:
- Detroit elementary-middle school stabbing: Mother and teen arrested, student injured
- Detroit mom gave pocketknife to 13-year-old ‘to defend herself’ on the way home from school - prosecutor
The teen was been charged with assault and possession of a weapon in a school zone. She was not identified due to her age.
Her case is still ongoing and facing charges.
Officials said the incident happened over a disagreement. The knife was allegedly detected by a metal detector, but police say the security guard failed to search the woman.
Officials say the security guard has been removed from the school pending an investigation that could lead to termination.
The Source: Information for this report is from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.