11-year-old charged with stabbing of fifth-grader

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – An 11-year-old boy was charged yesterday in the stabbing death of another 11-year-old moments after the two argued at a movie theater.

The boy killed, fifth-grader Nestor Herrera, was on his first outing to the movies without a grown-up. He was stabbed in the theater lobby Saturday night, minutes after he called to check in with his mother, and he died later at a hospital.

The defendant, whose name was not released, is charged with juvenile delinquency by reason of murder.

Under Massachusetts law, children younger than 14 cannot be tried as adults. If convicted, he could be held in a juvenile detention facility until he is 18. At that time, the state can argue that he should be held until 21.

Nestor was attacked in a video arcade in the theater lobby while waiting to be picked up by a friend’s mother. The young suspect fled after the attack and was arrested Sunday with the cooperation of his mother, police said.

"They argued and the assailant pulled out a knife," Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett said.

The two boys did not attend the same school, but were acquaintances who had gone to the theater with separate groups of friends, he said. Authorities do not yet know why the two boys argued.

Nestor’s family, including his mother, Caroline, stepfather and three younger siblings, had come to Springfield from Puerto Rico eight months ago.

"He was very happy, because he was going to learn English fast and study a lot here," his mother said.