SUNRISE, Fla. – A 16-year-old boy appeared in juvenile court Tuesday, a day after he was accused of pulling out a knife during a fight at Piper High School in Sunrise.
The teen's father was also in court and told the judge this was not like his son.
The judge ultimately ruled that the teen, Ryan Nixon, remain in juvenile detention for 21 days.
According to police, authorities responded to Piper High School Monday and found one student with an injury to his finger.
Police said the school was placed on lockdown because Nixon took off running.
After a search of the school, Nixon was located and arrested.
"The cops came into the classroom and they detained him, and we were all surprised because we never knew that, you know, that was him in the class," student Owen Hodgson said.
Nixon's attorney asked the judge to place the teen on home detention with a monitoring device. His father also insisted that the incident was out of character for his son. He described it as teenage horseplay that was taken too far.
"When I found out what was in this report, I was shocked. I truly believe that this was horseplay gone awry," the man said.
While Nixon didn't have any prior offenses, the judge still ruled that the 10th grader be placed in detention for 21 days and ordered him not to return to Piper High School upon his release.
"Based on what's written in the probable cause affidavit, it is 21 days secure detention," the judge said.
Piper High School has already suspended Nixon for 10 days. He is expected back in court on Feb. 22 to determine if he can continue attending classes there.