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Gwinnett teen charged with stabbing father, brother after bringing knife to school

The officer could see drops of blood in the entryway of the house.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A 17-year-old is in the Gwinnett County jail charged with stabbing his father and older brother twice each on Wednesday.

An officer was dispatched to the family's home on Spring End Court at 2:52 p.m. Feb. 21.

According to police, when the officer arrived he found the mother of Max Cardenas-Garcia in the front yard and she was "visibly distressed." She took the officer through the front door of the residence where he reported seeing small droplets of blood in the entryway.

The first victim, Cardenas-Garcia's brother, was sitting on the kitchen floor with a stab wound to his neck and his lower back. The second victim, Cardenas-Garcia's father, was kneeling next to the brother and holding a kitchen towel to his neck to stop the bleeding. Police said the father had been stabbed in his chest and left shoulder.

The officer called for backup and proceeded to interview the mother of the suspect.

The mother told police that her 17-year-old son had been sent home from school, Maxwell High School of Technology, that day for bringing a pocket knife onto school property. Gwinnett County schools police had confiscated the knife before he was suspended from school. She told police that she began arguing with him since this was not the first time her son had done this.

She said her son ran upstairs. She followed him and found him on top of his brother, stabbing him with a "pointed object," according to police.

Cardenas-Garcia's father then grabbed him by the waist and attempted to pull him off of his brother. That's when police say the 17-year-old turned around and attacked, according to police. Cardenas-Garcia then ran back downstairs and ran away from the residence.

The mother told police that her son had not been sleeping well lately but was not on any sort of medication and had not seen a medical professional. She said she hoped that when her son joined the police explorer program at Maxwell High, his behavior would improve.

Information police developed took them to a home a couple of blocks from the family's home. Police met with two teens who said they made contact with him. They told police Cardenas-Garcia admitted to stabbing his family members and ordered the teens to give him a navy blue jacket in order to conceal his identity.

Police did eventually apprehend Cardenas-Garcia and booked him for aggravated assault. They do not know why he took the knife to school or if he planned to use it there.

His mother declined to comment to 11Alive News Friday afternoon. Police did not know the conditions of the brother and father.

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