9-Year-Old Stabs Playmate To Death In Fight Over Toy: Police

A 9-year-old boy in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, allegedly killed an 11-year-old boy during a scuffle over a toy over the weekend, state police said.

The two unnamed children were playing with plastic and foam-based Nerf guns along Randall Road in Ridgebury Township Saturday night when the incident occurred, Star-Gazette reported, citing the Pennsylvania State Police at Towanda.

A tug-of-war ensued between the two over a toy gun, and one of the boys, who was holding a knife, allegedly ended up stabbing the other in the upper left chest during the fight, according to police.

The stabbing victim was taken to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre following the incident. Life-saving measures were performed on the older boy, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

State police have classified the death as a homicide, and an investigation into the fatal stabbing is ongoing.

No charges have been filed over the incident thus far.

The victim was reportedly a student at East Smithfield's Smithfield-Ridgebury-Ulster Elementary School.

A similar incident happened in the neighboring state of New York last week when a 12-year-old boy stabbed another boy in a playground.

The pre-teen and another 12-year-old boy, both of whom were not identified, were playing in a Parks Department-ran playground in Jamaica, Queens, last Thursday when the former stabbed the latter.

The injured boy ran into the school building of the nearby Emerson School, while the other child fled.

Medics took the injured victim to Long Island Jewish Medical Center with a stab wound to his stomach. His condition stabilized, and he was expected to recover.

Authorities were later able to catch the attacker and arrest him.

"[The] NYPD (New York Police Department) and [emergency medical services] immediately responded to this incident, which occurred off school property and after dismissal," Department of Education spokesman Nathaniel Styer was quoted as saying.

The stabbing stemmed from an argument, police said. The weapon used in the attack was not disclosed.

Charges over the incident are pending.

The stabbing came hours after a 14-year-old boy was caught entering his Brooklyn public high school with a loaded gun in his backpack.