PHOENIX — On the morning of August 19th, Michael Montoya II got up and headed off to Maryvale High School, where he had just started his junior year.
It was the last time Graciela Lopez would see her 16-year-old son alive.
Police say her son was stabbed multiple times in a classroom by another teen and later died at the hospital. A witness said the suspect, 16-year-old Chris Daniel Aguilar, and his twin brother said they would “murder the victim" after an alleged robbery.
Chris Aguilar was charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
Lopez on Thursday filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Phoenix Union High School District over alleged safety failures.
Video in the player above shows previous coverage of the deadly stabbing incident.
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“The district has a special relationship with its students which imposes an affirmative duty on the district to protect its students from unreasonable risks of harm on its campuses,” the lawsuit states.
The suit claims the district “breached its duty to protect its students” and “recklessly disregarded measures" to protect students on campus.
The lawsuit alleges a history of student violence and deadly weapons on campuses, as well as a lack of school resource officers. The suit also alleges the district programmed metal detectors to ignore smaller weapons – including the “small folding knife” used to kill Montoya.
Phoenix Union is one of the largest high school districts in the United States with more than 25,000 students. After the deadly attack, Phoenix Union High School District said it would continue to evaluate all safety systems.
The district recently announced it will accept millions of dollars in state grant money to increase the number of school resource officers and school safety officers district-wide from six to 15.
The school district tells ABC15 that, out of respect for the ongoing legal process, the district is unable to comment at this time.
Email ABC15’s reporter Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X.
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