By admin 
PHOENIX — On the morning of August 19, Michael Montoya II got up and headed off to Maryvale High School, where he had just started his junior year.
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It was the last time Graciela Lopez would see her 16-year-old son alive.
They exchanged texts that morning. Then suddenly everything went silent.
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.
“We’re broken, We’re sad. We’re lost. We just have so many emotions,” Lopez told ABC15.
Video in the player above shows previous coverage of the deadly stabbing incident.
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.
“Based upon that history, a red light should have been flashing,” said Stephen Montoya, a Phoenix attorney who is representing the family.
The suit also alleges the district programmed metal detectors to ignore smaller weapons – including the “folding knife” used to kill Michael Montoya.
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“We hope that this lawsuit sets an example for the rest of the districts in Arizona and the country to demand the safety of their children,” said Stephen 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.
“That’s the way it used to be before they kicked them out,” said Stephen Montoya, the family’s attorney. “That is a step, a stride in the right direction. But it’s only the beginning and one stride in the right direction is not going to make this go away.”
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 [email protected], call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X.
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