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Students accused of attacking bus driver return to court

Posted at 6:26 PM, Jan 02, 2013
and last updated 2013-01-03 07:08:34-05

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - The new year started off with a court date for six Albert Hill Middle School students. The sixth, seventh and eighth graders are facing felony charges for allegedly attacking their school bus driver. However, the teens said they were simply defending themselves.

The court hearing Wednesday afternoon was closed to everyone but immediate family members. 

The father of one of the 12-year-old suspects told CBS 6 News senior reporter Wayne Covil that the ordeal has been very stressful for the family. He said the family is trying to put the incident behind them and get back to normalcy.

However, one parent said there could be a potential snag because she thinks her daughter could be deemed incompetent to stand trail.

In fact, the 12-year-old's mother said her daughter is so baffled by the court proceedings that she doesn't even understand the charges she is facing.

"That is the issue and we're going to seek further information from our attorney in the next couple of days to see if she's competent to stand for herself to learn what is going on," the woman said. "And now she has classes to attend to figure out if she will learn the process." 

The woman also said her daughter is staying inside her house and not taking any chances.

"They say she could go on the porch, [but] I don't even let her go on the porch because anything could happen in the setting where we live," the woman said.

All six of the students remain on house arrest. While they can return to the class, several parents said their kids are not being allowed back to Albert Hill Middle School.

The students are scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 20.

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