A 15-year-old boy is dead and a 48-year-old man is hospitalized after another teen crashed a sleepover at the boy’s house Saturday night and stabbed the victims. Sumter County Undersheriff Pat Breeden said deputies were called to the home at about 10 p.m. and found the two victims. Emergency medical personnel rendered aid before they were airlifted to area hospitals for treatment.
The boy, identified as Connor Michael Gill, was pronounced dead just before 1:30 a.m. The adult has not been identified, but Breeden said he was listed in stable condition.
A 16-year-old boy, identified as Alexander Warren Hernandez, was identified as the suspect in the stabbings and was found with the help of the sheriff’s office helicopter.
Breeden shared photographs of a knife and what appeared to be a kama — a Japanese farming blade that resembles a small version of a scythe and is also used in some martial arts — that he said Hernandez used to stab the victims. Hernandez told detectives he bought the blades online.
The sheriff’s office said that Hernandez allegedly came to the home unannounced and “banged” on the door. When Gill unlocked it, Hernandez forced his way in, stabbed the boy, and threatened another victim. The adult came in to find out what was going on and was also stabbed.
Detectives said the suspect and his victim knew one another and that they had both been withdrawn from school and were being homeschooled. They have not determined a motive for the attack.
Hernandez has been charged with first degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, and armed burglary.