Teen says he killed over religion
Sleepover attack leaves one dead, two injured in Palm Beach Gardens.
PALM BEACH GARDENS — A Jupiter teen said his Muslim faith led him to fatally stab a boy on his 13th birthday and injure two others during a sleepover Sunday night at a home in BallenIsles Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens police said Tuesday.
Corey Johnson, 17, was arrested Monday after he reportedly confessed to stabbing the three people while he spent the night at a friend’s home in the gated community off PGA Boulevard. The one-time Dwyer High School student faces one murder and two attempted-murder charges in the stabbings. The FBI also is investigating the attacks.
Judge Daliah H. Weiss on Tuesday ordered Johnson be held in a juvenile detention center while a grand jury decides whether to charge him as an adult in the killing. Friends and family of the victims packed the juvenile courtroom Tuesday afternoon for the brief hearing but did not make themselves available for comment.
Interim Chief Clint Shannon said Jupiter police, Palm Beach County School District police and the FBI previously investigated Johnson for “alleged violent tendencies” that they received through “intelligence gathering” in the northern part of the county.
As recently as March 5, local police and federal agents were discussing possible charges against Johnson, Jupiter police said in a report released Friday. Authorities were investigating threats Johnson apparently made against a Catholic high school in England.
Shannon said Palm Beach Gardens’ only previous encounter with Johnson occurred at 3 a.m. Feb. 28, when he and four other juveniles were stopped on Holly Drive, just east of Military Trail. The juveniles were released into the custody of their parents. Johnson was in the company of Kyle and Dane Bancroft, Shannon said.
Johnson, who police said recently withdrew from Dwyer, told authorities he woke up about
4 a.m. Monday at his friend Kyle Bancroft’s home. Johnson decided to kill Kyle’s mother, Elaine Simon, a family-lawattorney based in Palm Beach Gardens; Kyle’s brother, Dane, 13; and Dane’s friend, Jovanni Sierra Brand, 13, while they slept, he said.
Dane reportedly had “made fun” of Johnson’s Islamic faith, the teen said, according to the police report. Sierra, who turned 13 on Monday, referred to celebrities as “gods,” Johnson said. That upset him because it is contrary to the Islamic faith to idolize others as a god, he said.
Johnson and Kyle watched violent jihadist videos Sunday night, they said. Johnson stabbed Sierra and slit his throat with a knife he had brought with him to the house.
Johnson said he read the Quran before going to the house. He turned to the Muslim holy book “to give him courage to carry out his intentions,” according to an arrest report.
American Islamic leaders have repeatedly condemned expressions of their faith, the second largest in the world after Christianity, that involve violence and terrorism, especially since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Shortly before 6a.m. Monday, Simon told city police she heardwhat sounded like Sierra moaning. She went upstairs to investigate.
As Simon walked to the top of the stairs, Johnson lunged at her with a knife and stabbed her. She said she’d known the teen for a decade. Authorities said she was stabbed at least a dozen times and fell down the stairs.
Dane ran to protect his mother. He was stabbed more than two dozen times, police said.
Someone ran to a neighbor’s home and called 911. Simon and Dane were rushed to a trauma hospital for their injuries. Kyle was not hurt.
Johnson had barricaded himself in a room when police arrived. He was taken into custody about 8 a.m. by the city’sS WAT team. Sierra was found dead.
Dane and Sierra were seventh-graders at Watson B. Duncan Middle School in Palm Beach Gardens, according to offifficials. Principal Philip D’Amico notified parents of the deaths with a recorded call Tuesday morning.
“Your students may have heard some tragic news via social media regarding one of their fellow students, who was fatally wounded in an incident at a private residence. Another student was injured. Police are still investigating the incident, and we have no information about the case. However, we have no reason to believe it was related to anything involving the school,” D’Amico said in the call.
D’Amico added that the school will have counselors available to help students, teachers and staff.
Local Islamic organizations said they were unfamiliar with Johnson. Wilfredo Ruiz, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Florida, said from Miami that offifficials of the mosque told him they do not recall seeing the boy or knowing him. A person who answered the phone at the Islamic Center of Palm Beach in North Palm Beach said he did not recognize Johnson’s name. Calls to the Muslim Community of Palm Beach County mosque in West Palm Beach were not returned.
This is the second reported homicide in Palm Beach Gardens in 2018 and the second to touch Ballen Isles. Alan J. Abrahamson, a 71- yearold Ballen Isles homeowner, was found dead early Jan. 25 near a sidewalk by the intersection of PGA and Central boulevards. Police have not made an arrest in his death.