The daughter of a foreign diplomat staffed at the German Embassy stabbed a schoolmate twice in the shoulder Tuesday with scissors at a preppy international school in Washington, DC – though authorities said she will avoid prosecution because of diplomatic immunity.
The victim, a 13-year-old student, was rushed to Children’s National Medical Center on Tuesday with what was later described as non-life threatening injuries.
The incident reportedly took place just before 1pm at the British International School in the Georgetown section of Washington, according to NBC Washington.
Authorities briefly detained the 12-year-old girl, but as the daughter of a diplomat she is legally exempt from prosecution.
The incident was nonetheless serious enough for the Secret Service to dispatch its agents to the school to investigate.
The daughter of a foreign diplomat stabbed a schoolmate twice Tuesday at the British International School (above) in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC
A spokesperson for the German mission told The Washington Post that the suspect in the stabbing is the daughter of an embassy staff member.
The spokesman, Matthias Wehler, said that the embassy would conduct its own review.
If it is discovered that the parents in any way encouraged the stabbing, they could be subject to disciplinary action, Wehler said.
‘This will not be ignored,’ he said.
Tuition at the school ranges from $24,000 for nursery students to $27,000 for elementary school kids to $33,000 for high school students.
Diplomats are given immunity from the host nation’s laws as prescribed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The victim was rushed to Children’s National Medical Center. He was said to be conscious and alert. The image above shows police officers outside the school after the stabbing Tuesday
According to the treaty, which has been ratified by 191 countries, including the United States, ‘diplomats must not be liable to any form of arrest or detention.’
Article 29 of the treaty states that diplomats are immune from civil or criminal prosecution.
The document also stipulates that family members of diplomats living in the host country are given the same protections as the diplomats themselves.
Host countries are legally permitted to declare diplomats persona non grata, which would give the foreign emissaries a window of time to prepare to leave their post and return home.
If a diplomat refuses to leave despite being declared persona non grata, the host country is entitled to strip him or her of diplomatic immunity.