Four children abducted at Friday night’s youth dance at Seaside youth dance
The party had only just gotten underway, partially, with an influx of kids coming to enjoy their night. “A fight had broken out between the kids. The principal had moved to the back, out of view of the doors, to deal with it. That was when they [the thugs] came in.” reports one witness who requested to remain anonymous
The shaken woman went on to detail the rest of the events. Hiding behind the door, she watched in abject horror as four people came in. “The first one in, a blond of average height and muscled build, seemed to be the leader, shooting holes in the ceiling before she demanded we all drop our weapons and segregate – adults to one side, and kids to the other – ordering the other three around. There was a woman with her face covered by a mask, another woman with shoulder-length scraggly hair, and a man who seemed to be real familiar with knives. As I watched, the man with the knife moved until I knew he must have been on the other side of the far door. Soon after that I saw one of the kids take a thrown knife to the shoulder to protect another girl.”
“Attacking a child is the same as attacking every single one of us. I’m sure the fine people of Hathian will stand with me and demand the safe return of every innocent child taken. Any information, no matter how small it may seem, should be given to HPD as soon as possible.” – Mayor Matfield
After the first few gunshots, and as a crowd of angry ‘unarmed’ kids swarmed the group, the blond leader getting somehow wounded in the process, the party-crashers backed up and attempted to flee. The male assailant was identified by his accomplices and witnesses as “Jed”, while the blond is suspected of being The Rejects’ leader Rory. The identities of the others involved include Esperanza ‘Espi’ Hernandoz, and a masked woman. The assailants were able to abduct four children; Svenja Rhodes, Jackson Dragonblood, Harrison Alexander and a final child who witnesses say may have been referred to as ‘Luna’. Further, several were wounded in the botched ransoming; two children suffered gunshot wounds, with another suffering stab wounds while yet another child suffered blows to the head and body. Among the wounded there was also principal Caverly, who was shot while attempting to defend the children.
The Observer reached out to the principal, mayor, HPD and even the Rejects themselves (via twitter) in order to gain statements. Mayor Matfield was adamant that this would be dealt with swiftly and with force as he offered his statement in the wake of this tragic event. “I would like to say attacks on our children will not be tolerated. I have spoken with Principal Caverly, who attended the event, and HPD about this. I will not give exact details at this time, but trust me when I say we are doing all we can to get the kids home safe and sound. One of the children taken, Svenja Rhodes, is virtually my stepdaughter. I take this matter very seriously.” When asked about the reported threats of escalation from the Rejects due to Principal Caverly’s twitter comments and actions during the crisis, he had this to add: “My only comment would be that nothing, not the behavior of Zipporah Caverly or anything else, would justify them hurting a child. I will make sure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if one child is even slightly harmed. Attacking a child is the same as attacking every single one of us. I’m sure the fine people of Hathian will stand with me and demand the safe return of every innocent child taken. Any information, no matter how small it may seem, should be given to HPD as soon as possible. I ask every citizen to be vigilant in looking for Rejects or any of the missing children.”
“We stated no one would be hurt if people complied. There was five of us. One of her. Do the math.” – ‘Princess’; The Rejects
Some have been quick to criticize the principal for her decision to meet force with force; a public apology posted by an officer on Caverly’s behalf seemed to suggest she might accept some of the blame for how things turned out. One such voice spoke out to the Observer, requesting to be referred to as ‘Princess’. Contacting me through twitter, this individual claimed to be one of the Rejects involved in the kidnapping – and she certainly seemed to know a lot as she sparred with principal Caverly over public Twitter feeds, the two of them interacting as if they knew who each was and were clear on what had happened.