On the morning of Sept. 19, students at Arizona State University were filing into economics class when, out of nowhere, a knife attack almost happened, seemingly at random. But police allege the attack wasn’t random at all.
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Student Kaci Sloan, 19, lunged from her seat at a classmate Mara Daffron, also 19, while armed with a pairing knife in the Sands Classroom building, just as Daffron entered the room. Two witnesses immediately ran to Daffron’s rescue and managed to disarm Sloan and restrain her, per The Arizona Republic.
Daffron’s mother, Launi, told the Daily Mail her daughter thought Sloan tripped over her until she realized something wasn’t right. As she tried to run away, Sloan stabbed her in the back, the mother said. As a result of the incident, Daffron suffered a ruptured spleen and had to undergo surgery.
Motive or Mental Torment?
Court documents say the stabbing happened “without provocation or any words spoken,” per The Arizona Republic. Though, Sloan allegedly confessed she’d been planning the attack since the night before. In letters from her backpack obtained by ASU police, she wrote that she struggled with “self-worth issues” and penned apologies for what she anticipated doing.
She also told officers she struggled with thoughts of harming others but was “disgusted” by them, the report says. However, she concluded that acting on those thoughts would make her problems “go away” and picked Daffron because she was an “easy target,” recognizing her from a previous class they shared. Sloan originally considered attacking a Navy veteran – who happened to be one of the witnesses to pry her off of Daffron, per the report.
Daffron, on the other hand, told police she didn’t know Sloan nor did she have any idea why she was targeted, per ABC 3340. She’s currently in stable condition, according to her family.
From Dorm Hall to Jail Cell
Sloan appeared to be a normal, academically well-performing student. Her social media has pictures of her traveling the world with her family and she received the $5,000 New American University Dean’s Award based on her academic success among other accolades, per LinkedIn.
Now, she’s being held on a $250,000 bond in Maricopa County Jail, records show. The university police has since filed a case with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. An ASU spokesperson told PEOPLE she’s been charged with suspicion of first-degree attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, interfering with an educational institution and disorderly conduct.
“ASU and the entire ASU West Valley campus community are deeply saddened by what happened. ASU West Valley is a tight-knit community of students, faculty and staff. We are deeply appreciative of all those who responded swiftly to intervene and provide assistance. Our thoughts continue to be with all impacted,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
