JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The 17-year-old Wolfson High School student accused of stabbing another student Wednesday is expected to get out of juvenile detention Saturday morning.
Channel 4 spoke exclusively with Marckenson Jean-Pierre, who is accused in a stabbing, and his parents Friday night, who said they want their son's story heard.
Jean-Pierre's parents told Channel 4 that their son was trying to defend himself against another student who threatened him.
Jean-Pierre told Channel 4's Tim Pulliam from juvenile detention Friday night he stabbed student Michael Johnson with a pocket knife, but that was only after Johnson had attacked and threatened him Wednesday morning at Wolfson High School.
"I have a black eye," said Jean-Pierre. "He was hitting me hard."
According to Jean-Pierre, problems started Tuesday after school. Jean-Pierre said Johnson accused him of staring him down and then later through a series of text messages threatened to fight him the next day.
Jean-Pierre's parents, Brenda Jean-Pierre and Marc Jean-Pierre, told Channel 4 that when they learned of the problems they called school around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, but were unable to get in touch with the principal. That's about the same time police said Johnson began attacking Jean-Pierre.
"I pushed him off and told him, 'I don't want to fight you,' then he came at me and started hitting me again," said Jean-Pierre. "That's when I started to protect myself because I felt my life was in danger."
"It was wrong for him to carry a weapon to school because it's not allowed in school, but he was afraid," said Brenda Jean-Pierre.
The school suspended Johnson, but Jean-Pierre was arrested. His parents said they think Johnson should face charges too.
"He should face same charges like my son face charges because he started the trouble. They should not look at one side, they should look at both sides," said Marc Jean-Pierre.